Colder weather has forced people indoors where the virus is more contagious, and holiday season gatherings such as Thanksgiving and Hanukkah mean there are more in-person events, leading to a spread of COVID-19 not seen since the spring.
New Jersey’s first case of omicron was a fully-vaccinated Georgia adult, who recently traveled to South Africa where the new variant was first detected, state officials said. The woman tested positive on Nov. 28 and remained in isolation. After experiencing moderate symptoms she is receiving care at an unspecified emergency department in North Jersey.
“The Omicron variant is among us and we need to take steps to stop its spread,” Gov. Phil Murphy said in the Friday evening announcement. “It is vital that residents remain as vigilant as possible as we await more information about the variant.”
Gov. Phil Murphy; First Lady Tammy Murphy; and Emma, Charlie and Sam Murphy receive their Covid-19 booster shots at Monmouth Medical Center on Nov. 28, 2021. – EDWIN J. TORRES / NJ GOVERNOR’S OFFICE
That means that New Jerseyans need to get the COVID-19 booster shot if eligible, or their first doses, and to wear masks. More than 6.26 million of the people who live, work or study in New Jersey are fully vaccinated, and hundreds of thousands have gotten the booster jab.
Not much is known about the new variant, which first made headlines over the Thanksgiving weekend and is formally labeled the B.1.1.529 strain, but typically referred to as the omicron variant.
Murphy, at an unrelated event in Carteret over the weekend, told NJ Advance Media that the variant is more transmissible but with milder symptoms.
“My gut tells me this is the first of many to come,” he said.
Until now, the delta variant has remained the dominant strain, and accounts for most, if not all, of new cases of the virus.
On Sunday, the state logged 3,097 new positive cases, and 1,113 people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infections, across 68 of the state’s 71 hospitals.
That marks the sixth day in a row in weeks of at least 1,000 COVID-19 patients. The rate of transmission, that is, how fast the virus spreads, has been above one for weeks, meaning that for every person who gets it, the virus spread to at least one other person.
According to the federal Centers for Disease Control, the state logged a seven-day average of 3,077 cases as of Dec. 3, or a 138% increase from a month ago.
“With cases increasing and the identification of the omicron in the state, the fight against COVID-19 is not over,” New Jersey Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli added in the Friday announcement.
Because of the state Health Department’s existing capabilities, it was able to use its own labs to positively identify this Georgia woman’s infection as the omicron variant.
State health officials have been working with local health departments, hospitals, clinical laboratories and the CDC “to rapidly identify individuals who may have been infected with the omicron variant,” the announcement reads.
“We are still learning about the omicron variant, but we have tools to stop the spread of the virus, most important among them is to get vaccinated and get a booster dose,” Persichilli continued.
Meanwhile any of the 53,000 people who attended the three-day Anime NYC Convention at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan last month are urged to get tested, after a Minnesota man tested positive for the omicron variant.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
