First omicron variant case is detected in South Florida

The first South Florida case of the coronavirus omicron variant has been detected in Miami-Dade County.

Cardiopath Lab, a private lab in the county, has sequenced the omicron variant in a sample it analyzed, according to a spokesman for the lab. The spokesman said he could not reveal details on the person who the sample had come from.

If confirmed by the Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this would become the third known case of omicron in Florida.

Earlier this week, a hospitalized patient in Tampa Bay was confirmed with omicron as was someone in St. Lucie County.

In the United States, the omicron variant has been detected in 26 states, according to the New York Times COVID tracker: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. Omicron also has been found in numerous countries.

The variant is unique in that it carries about 50 mutations not seen in combination before. Of those, more than 30 mutations are in the gene for the spike protein that the coronavirus uses to attach to human cells. Scientists are researching whether omicron’s mutations will enable it to evade vaccine immunity and whether it will cause more severe disease than delta.

In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday he will not impose COVID restrictions with the arrival of omicron.