New Confirmed Omicron COVID-19 Case Detected By Cleveland Clinic

CLEVELAND, OH — Two days after Ohio’s first two confirmed cases of COVID-19 associated with the Omicron variant was reported, Cleveland Clinic reported that the variant had been detected by one of its labs.

The facility did not release any information about the case, including where the person infected with the virus lives or how serious the case was. The announcement came on Monday after state officials announced that Ohio’s first two Omicron cases were detected in the central part of the state.

“Cleveland Clinic has detected the omicron variant in our laboratory. We routinely sequence positive specimens each week and share that information with the Ohio Department of Health,” the hospital system said in a statement. “This sampling of positive specimens enables us to identify and track SARS-CoV-2 variants that are circulating in the community.”

The new Omicron case comes on a day when the Ohio Department of Health announced 5,618 new COVID-19 cases statewide. The new total is just below the state’s rolling 21-day average of 6,657 cases.

As of Sunday, 59.3 percent of state residents had received at least one dose of the vaccines while 54.2 percent were fully vaccinated.

State health officials said that the two Omicron cases announced Saturday involved two men who had received two COVID-19 shots but had not yet gotten their booster. Neither man was hospitalized and was experiencing mild symptoms at the time when they tested positive. The men’s identities were not released to protect their identifies.

"We have known that it would only be a matter of time until a case of Omicron was detected in Ohio. The CDC believes that this variant has likely been circulating in the U.S. since November," Ohio Department of Health Director Bruce Vanderhoff said in a news release.

"While we will continue to learn more about Omicron in the days to come, early reports from South Africa suggest Omicron may be more contagious and more likely to reinfect people. Naturally, there has been concern regarding whether vaccines would remain protective. The results of the early research regarding vaccines are encouraging, reinforcing the benefits of primary vaccination and timely boosters.”