A Harris County woman has tested positive for the COVID-19 omicron variant, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said on Monday.
It's the first case of the rapidly spreading strand of the virus identified in Texas.
An unidentified northwest Harris County woman in her 40s with no recent travel history tested positive for the variant recently, Hidalgo said on Twitter. The woman was fully vaccinated, and was not hospitalized.
It was not immediately clear when the woman tested positive, or when the results became available.
NEW: A woman in her 40s from NW Harris County with no recent travel history has tested positive for the Omicron variant of COVID-19. The best way to protect ourselves and our community from this virus is to get vaccinated & boosted. Get your shot ➡️ https://t.co/qS98pi06fL
— Lina Hidalgo (@LinaHidalgoTX) December 7, 2021
The Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed the announcement in a statement Monday night. DSHS Commissioner John Hellerstedt said omicron's appearance in Texas was unsurprising based on its rapid spread across southern Africa.
Houston’s health department also confirmed that the omicron variant is present in the city’s wastewater.
The strain was identified by South African doctors last month, but has since shown up in other countries. At least 17 other states in the U.S. have so far detected cases of the newest coronavirus variant, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Omicron appears to be the most transmissible strain of the virus yet, though public health officials are optimistic based on results in South Africa that it is less dangerous than the delta variant, which is still the predominant strain in the U.S.
There have been no confirmed cases of the variant in Houston, but the Houston Health Department said on Twitter that omicron has been identified by the city’s wastewater monitoring.
NEW: #Omicron is present in #Houston’s wastewater, although a case has not yet been confirmed in the city. #COVID19 vaccination is our best tool to reduce cases, prevent serious illness & death, and slow the emergence of new variants. https://t.co/PxNGu50tx8 #hounews @HoustonTX pic.twitter.com/lgsY8y3IYn
— Houston Health Dept (@HoustonHealth) December 7, 2021
In a Monday interview before the virus was identified in Harris County, Houston Health Authority David Persse said HHD was testing the city's wastewater and working with Houston Methodist's sequencing lab in order to quickly identify the variant.
"The one thing that the coronavirus, all the variants have taught us from the beginning, is that it has put us behind the curve because so many people who are infected have minimal symptoms or no symptoms at all," he said. "So I will make the assumption that it is either here already or that it will be here very soon."
Additional reporting by Lucio Vasquez.
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