Ninety percent of COVID cases in SLO County are omicron variant
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY, Calif. - The omicron wave of COVID-19 has not yet crested in San Luis Obispo County.
"Our numbers are still quite high," SLO County Public Health Director, Dr. Penny Borenstein said. "They may be leveling off a little bit. Nothing to write home about at this point. We're still seeing 500-600 cases a day."
That equals some of the highest days in the pandemic. There are 2,225 active cases and 55 people hospitalized, with eight in intensive care.
"We are seeing high hospitalization rates," Borenstein said. "We're not sure if they've leveled off at this point. We're also beginning to see deaths with this Omicron variant and we have unfortunately a lot more coming."
Five COVID-19 deaths have been reported in January according to the county's dashboard, and more are pending finalized death certificates.
The county's lab testing shows nearly all recent coronavirus cases are of the new, highly transmissible variant.
"We're seeing upwards of 90 percent of those are due to the omicron variant," Borenstein said.
The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Officer adds that omicron is so infectious, "It rivals anything we've seen with our most infectious diseases like measles." While it's spreading quickly, Borenstein says all the data shows the omicron variant is less severe.
"All the experts who've been watching this would agree that for the vast majority of people who get infected with omircon, they're likely to have a less serious disease case than they might have with other variants," Borenstein said.
The problem, she says is "With so many people getting a disease even if you have a small percentage that are developing severe disease in need of hospitalization or intensive care, we're still seeing numbers that rival some of our earlier surges."
Regarding a lack of availability of rapid tests, Borenstein says, "We understand the frustration that the demand is outstripping the capacity."
The Federal Government is making four free rapid tests available to each household in America online.
San Luis Obispo County is also getting more rapid tests that will be made available through clinics and places of high need.
"The supply chain is beginning to open up," Boresnetin said. "I just would ask for people to be patient and try their best in various settings through clinics, through urgent cares, through pharmacies to try to get testing."
