ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – Recent samples taken from the Altamonte Sewer Service Area show the highest concentration ever of the omicron variant in wastewater, city officials said.
City Manager Frank Martz said the current amount detected has doubled in the last week and shows that nearly 70% of residents in the area are infected with the omicron variant of COVID-19.
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Omicron, which typically produces milder symptoms in patients, makes up more than 98% of the virus found in the wastewater, according to the city.
Experts believe that Florida has reached -- or will soon reach -- its peak with the surge in omicron cases.
“But if you look what’s happening across the East Coast right now, in New York City, Washington, D.C., Maryland, probably Florida as well, have already peaked, maybe Delaware, Rhode Island,” said Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former FDA commissioner and a Pfizer board member. “You’re going to start to see that in the statistics this week, you’re going to start to see those curves, those epidemic curves, bend down.”
The latest modeling from the University of Florida show cases will likely peak this week.
Ira Longini, a biostatistics professor at the University of Florida and a coauthor in UF’s recent study, predicts infections will reach about 80,000 cases per day.
The state reported 76,887 positive cases Thursday, marking a new all-time daily case record, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.