Alameda outbreak tied to Wisconsin wedding

>> Five “mildly symptomatic” COVID-19 cases involving the omicron variant have been identified in Alameda County, joining a growing list of omicron clusters across the nation, public health officials said Friday.

At least a dozen COVID-19 cases have been linked to a Nov. 27 wedding in Wisconsin, the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency said in a news release, of which five so far are confirmed to be omicron. One of the people attended the wedding upon returning from international travel.

The agency did not respond to clarifying questions Saturday, including whether just one person or multiple people attended the wedding and whether more omicron cases had been identified since Friday.

The infected individuals are between 18 and 49 years old and live in Alameda County except one resident of Berkeley, which has its own health jurisdiction. All 12 were vaccinated and most had received boosters.

“They are mildly symptomatic,” the agency said. “No one has been hospitalized.” A state lab used genomic sequencing to identify the five individuals infected with the variant, which has been detected in nearly 40 countries and at least 12 states since it was first discovered by South African scientists in November.

The Alameda County and Berkeley public health departments are working to investigate the cases with the support of the California Department of Public Health and notify close contacts of the infected people to quarantine or isolate.

The agency said it doesn’t know yet how omicron will impact a highly vaccinated region like the Bay Area. Relatively little is known about the variant, which is thought to have started circulating sometime in midOctober before it was identified.

Public health officials have urged everyone to get vaccinated and receive booster shots as soon as they are eligible., as well as wear masks indoors.

“We remind residents that vaccination continues to provide the best protection against severe illness from COVID-19 that could result in hospitalization and death,” the agency said.