Omicron Already Makes Up 2% Of COVID Cases In Region With MI: CDC

MICHIGAN — The omicron coronavirus variant already makes up 2 percent of COVID-19 cases in a midwest region that includes Michigan, according to heath officials. Other states in the region include Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.

The news also comes at a time where hospitalizations in Michigan are at their highest point of the pandemic and the state reported an average of 5,381 cases over a three-day period.

Michigan's first case of the COVID-19 omicron variant was identified in a Kent County resident Thursday, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said.

But there's a potential silver lining — Rochelle Walensky, who heads the CDC, said Tuesday on the "Today Show" that increasingly it appears the omicron variant causes less severe cases. She said there's still reason for concern.

"You still have a lot of people who are getting sick," she said, adding some of the most vulnerable people could experience severe COVID-related illness or death.

The delta variant remains much more prevalent across the county, but cases involving the omicron variant have been trending upward nationwide in recent weeks, officials said.

Omicron cases have been detected in 33 states, which Walensky said indicates that it is quickly becoming the predominant strain as more cases emerge.