OMICRON: SNCO health leaders warn that uptick in new variant is coming
TOPEKA (KSNT) - Health leaders are warning people that an uptick of the Omicron variant is coming to Shawnee County. Shawnee County Health Department leaders appeared before the Public Health Technical Advisory Board Thursday.
Although the county is seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, health leaders say the majority of those cases are the Delta variant. Shawnee County Health Officer Dr. Erin Locke said they are expecting to see an even larger uptick once Omicron takes hold in the county.
"We expect that it will spread far more quickly in households," Dr. Locke said. "We'll just see families all becoming infected close to the same time."
Dr. Locke said congregate settings, like student housing, jails, nursing homes, are one of the county's primary concerns. She said they believe there will be higher transmissions in schools as well.
This comes as the KDHE issues new guidelines for the general public and healthcare workers