ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – Altamonte Springs reported a “massive” increase in the amount of COVID-19 detected in the wastewater as of Monday, according to city officials.
Data shows the omicron variant was detected in nearly 99% of wastewater throughout the Altamonte Springs Sewer Service area.
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City manager Frank Martz said this is the second highest concentration of the COVID-19 virus in gene copies per liter found in the wastewater to date.
According to statistics, the number increased almost 10,000% since Thanksgiving, with omicron proving to be the dominant strain, and about 7,845% since the beginning of the delta surge in July of last year.
The sample shows that as of Monday, 49,588 people in the Altamonte Springs Sewer Service area were infected.
This comes about a week after Orange County officials also reported historic levels of COVID-19 in the area’s wastewater.