Latest CDC Data Shows Omicron Variant Cases Exploding In Southeast, Florida

FLORIDA — The omicron variant has overtaken the delta coronavirus variant, including in the Southeast, and is now dominant in the United States, accounting for 73 percent of new cases, federal health officials estimate.

The omicron spike comes three weeks after the variant was detected half a world away and days before Americans gather for the holidays, sparking fears among health officials that COVID-19 cases could return to early pandemic levels.

In the Southeast region, which includes Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, omicron variant cases outpace the delta variant, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In this region, 95.2 percent of COVID-19 specimens tested for specific variants during the week ending Dec. 18 were omicron, while 4.7 percent were the delta variant, the CDC said.

The number of all new coronavirus cases more than doubled in Florida last week. During the week of Dec. 10-16, 29,568 new cases and a 5.4 percent new case positivity rate were reported statewide, according to data from the Florida Department of Health.

The week prior to that, Dec. 3-9, saw 13,530 new cases and a 2.6 percent new case positivity rate, FDOH said.

The CDC numbers reported Monday show how quickly omicron is spreading. Nationwide, omicron variant cases increased six-fold in only a week.

In some regions of the country, the spike is higher than 73 percent. The variant accounts for at least 90 percent of new infections in the New York area, the Southeast, the Midwest and Pacific.

The delta variant had been dominant since June, and as recently as the end of November represented 99.5 percent of new cases.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told reporters Monday that omicron’s rapid spread matches what other countries have seen.

“These new numbers are stark, but they are not surprising,” Walensky said.

Only about 28 percent of Americans have gotten their COVID-19 booster shots, which health officials say is the best defense against the omicron variant. Only about 61 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated but aren’t boosted, and health officials are worried about the nation’s ability to withstand a fifth wave of COVID-19.

In Florida, despite the recent rise in coronavirus cases, Gov. Ron DeSantis remains adamant that there will not be face mask requirements or other mandates put in place to stop the spread of the virus, even as other states announce closures and COVID-19 protocols in the face of omicron.

“We will not allow our communities to descend into Faucian dystopias in which people’s freedoms are curtailed and their livelihoods destroyed,” DeSantis tweeted Monday.

The comment took aim at Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, chief medical advisor to the president, and an infectious disease expert who has touted mask wearing, social distancing, and other safety protocols during the pandemic.

The governor added, “COVID authoritarianism is meant to be perpetual. They want a permanent mask mandate on commercial air travel and no doubt would impose additional lockdowns if they thought they could get away with it.”

For more information, go to the CDC data tracker.