Omicron Makes Up At Least 2% Of Ohio COVID-19 Cases: CDC

OHIO — As Ohio battles another delta variant-driven COVID-19 surge, the omicron variant has begun to spread throughout the Midwest and Great Lakes.

The delta variant is still responsible for approximately 98 percent of all COVID-19 cases in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated. Omicron constitutes the remaining 2 percent of cases.

Other regions of the nation, including the New York and New Jersey area, have seen jumps in the number of omicron cases. Omicron now represents 13 percent of all cases in that part of the country.

There have been at least three confirmed cases of omicron in the Buckeye State, two in central Ohio and one in northern Ohio. Those were simply the cases that were sequenced, there could be additional omicron-driven cases in the state.

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-19-related illness or death.

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

Meanwhile, the delta variant has led to a marked uptick in both new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Ohio, particularly in the northern portion of the state. Several hospital systems have decided to delay nonessential surgeries to preserve available beds in hospitals, sports teams are placing large numbers of players and staff on COVID-19 reserve lists, and health officials are urging residents to get a COVID-19 vaccine and booster shot.