Photo: SFC
Yolo County is reporting its first case of the omicron variant of COVID-19.
According to the Yolo County Department of Public Health on Thursday, a West Sacramento adult got a routine, free coronavirus test at the county's "Healthy Davis Together" testing site. All samples from that testing facility are sent to the UC Davis Genome Center which tests for variants of COVID-19, such as omicron. The patient, who was said to be vaccinated and to have received a booster shot, is now in isolation and contact tracing began after the discovery with mild symptoms. Officials said the patient had recently returned to the area after traveling to New York and Maryland. “The detection of the potentially highly transmissible Omicron variant is concerning, especially with more people traveling and visiting with friends and family for the holidays,” said Dr. Aimee Sisson, Yolo County Public Health Officer, in the press release.
Sacramento County Public Health Officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye said during a Thursday press briefing that the county is seeing an uptick in numbers “due to people traveling or gathering during the Thanksgiving holidays.” Neither Yolo nor Sacramento County public health officials anticipate changing current COVID-19 protocols, though both continue to monitor the omicron variant.