Butte County identifies first omicron case

Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
·2 min read

Dec. 29—Butte County Public Health received a notification Monday of the first Butte County resident to be infected with the omicron variant of COVID-19.

According to the health department, the infected resident from Chico is fully vaccinated but has not yet received a booster shot.

The evidence of the presence of the variant was collected on Dec. 16, confirming that the omicron variant had been in Butte County for at least two weeks, according to a news release from Butte County Public Health.

While many health experts believe omicron is less severe than other COVID-19 variants, evidence from multiple studies in multiple countries have suggested that omicron spreads more rapidly than other variants.

Butte County Public Health released the following information regarding how easily omicron spreads: — Close contacts, especially household contacts, to persons infected with omicron appear to be two to three times more likely to be infected as compared with contacts to persons infected with the delta variant. — The doubling time: The time it takes for cases in a given area to double is two to three days, compared with approximately two weeks for the delta variant. This means that even if omicron results in fewer people with severe disease, the large number of persons infected could result in a greater number of persons needing medical attention overburdening our hospitals and healthcare providers. — Omicron can infect persons who were previously infected with COVID-19 and persons who are fully vaccinated (two doses of an mRNA vaccine or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine). However, fully vaccinated people still have significant protection against severe disease. A booster dose provides substantial additional protection against omicron.

Butte County Public Health stressed that many symptoms of COVID-19 resemble those of a cold, flu and allergies. Anyone experiencing the following symptoms should stay home and get tested for COVID-19: — Congestion or a runny nose — Sore throat — Fever or chills — Cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing — Fatigue, muscle or body aches — Headache — Nausea or vomiting, or diarrhea — New loss of taste or smell (not typically seen with omicron)

To schedule an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccination or booster shot, please visit https://myturn.ca.gov/.