Signs of Omicron found in California wastewater, suggesting variant is widespread

Signs of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus have been found in 
California’s wastewater, officials said, as the number of cases 
associated with the new variant rose to double digits, including two 
new infections in Los Angeles County confirmed since Tuesday.

Clues suggestive of Omicron’s presence in the Central Valley were 
picked up in wastewater samples collected in Sacramento and Merced 
counties, state epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan said this week in a 
discussion hosted by the California Medical Assn.

“We definitely are seeing Omicron across the state, for sure,” Pan 
said.

In Sacramento County, Stanford University researchers detected a 
distinctive mutation that is found in Omicron from wastewater 
collected Nov. 30, according to a statement provided by county 
spokesperson Janna Haynes. Results were confirmed Monday, the county 
said.

“These findings indicate that the Omicron variant is most likely 
present in Sacramento County,” the statement said.

Pan said the mutation was also found in a wastewater sample 
collected in Merced County.

By Wednesday night, California’s tally of confirmed Omicron cases 
reached 12, with six cases in Alameda County, five in Los Angeles 
County and one in San Francisco.

L.A. County reported a new Omicron case Wednesday night, possibly a 
result of local transmission, in a fully vaccinated person who had 
received a booster and suffered only mild symptoms. Several close 
contacts of that person have also tested positive for the 
coronavirus, and work is underway to determine whether those cases 
involve the Omicron variant. Some of the close contacts are fully 
vaccinated; the vaccination status of others is under investigation.

A day earlier, Long Beach, which has its own health department, 
reported an Omicron case in a fully vaccinated resident who was 
experiencing no symptoms and who had traveled abroad, although not 
to southern Africa. The largest proportion of confirmed Omicron 
cases has been among people in southern Africa.


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https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-12-08/signs-of-
omicron-found-in-california-wastewater