The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) said Sunday that the Omicron variant has not reached California.
State Public Health Officer and Director Dr. Tomás J. Aragón issued the following statement regarding the Omicron variant;
“California is closely monitoring the new Omicron variant, which has not yet arrived in California or the U.S. Vaccines continue to be our best way through the pandemic by safely protecting us against severe illness from COVID-19 and its variants. We are doubling down on our vaccination and booster efforts to ensure that all Californians have access to safe, effective, and free vaccines that can prevent serious illness and death.”
CDPH says they are closely monitoring the situation related to the new variant. They say they have ‘established a public-private partnership through the California SARS-CoV-2 Whole Genome Sequencing Initiative called COVIDNet to provide the state with genomic sequencing to help understand and control the spread of COVID-19,’ ultimately allowing them to detect the variant early in California.
State health officials say that anyone who has traveled to South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia or Zimbabwe within the last 14 days must follow CDC recommendations and get tested 3-5 days after arrival, quarantine for 7 days even if testing negative, and isolate for 10 days if COVID-19 symptoms develop.
Here is a link to an Omicron variant fact sheet.
