Omicron Cases Detected In Contra Costa County

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA — Three cases of the highly transmissible omicron variant of COVID-19 were detected in Contra Costa County, health officials announced Monday.

Two of the Contra Costa residents sickened were fully vaccinated, though none of those three people received a booster shot, Contra Costa Health Services said in a statement. None of those people had been hospitalized as of Monday.

“We knew it was just a matter of time before the omicron variant appeared in Contra Costa County,” said Dr. Chris Farnitano, Contra Costa County health officer, in the statement. “We’ve been encouraging anyone who is eligible to get a booster dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine to do so."

The variant has likely been circulating in the Bay Area for several weeks, Contra Costa Health Services said in a statement.

A wastewater sample taken in central Contra Costa Dec. 8 tested positive for the variant, five days after Alameda County reported its first five cases of the omicron variant.

All but a handful of states have detected cases.

The seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases in Contra Costa increased about five percent in the past two weeks. The number of people hospitalized has remained stable, the county said.

Though the omicron variant appeared to be quickly spreading, the delta variant remained the most common. More than 97 percent of COVID-19 samples genetically sequenced in Contra Costa were the delta variant.

Contra Costa residents can sign up to receive a COVID-19 vaccine or booster online.

"People who get the booster are far less likely to get gravely ill or be hospitalized," Farnitano said. "That’s our wish for this holiday season.”