Miami Omicron Surge Sparks Action To Prevent Spread

Miami FL

20 December, 2021

4:03 PM

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By Joseph Hawk, Miami Times Staff Writer, the Miami Times Dec 17, 2021 As holiday celebrations start to really gear up, the coronavirus is beginning to spike again. According to Dr. David Andrews, UHealth pathologist, and medical director of the pathology laboratory at Jackson Memorial Hospital, omicron is now the most dominant variant of the coronavirus being seen in lab results. During a press conference on Thursday, he mentioned that Jackson Health found the omicron variant in over 80% of samples tested. "This is unprecedented, we saw our first case of omicron on a sample obtained on Dec. 2," Dr. Andrews said. He added that the omicron variant is somewhere between 2 to 3 times as transmissible as the delta variant that was the major concern during this past summer. Dr. Peter Paige, executive vice president, chief physician executive and chief clinical officer at Jackson Health System added that the 7-day numbers for both new cases and new cases per 100,000 people is increasing. Dr. Paige also mentioned that most people testing positive are either asymptomatic or with mild symptoms. Most of these positive tests are coming from coincidental testing, meaning the patient was tested not because they felt they might have the virus, but as part of the protocol for being admitted to medical facilities for a procedure. Speaking of protocols, due to increased cases, Jackson Health announced a change to visitation policies at their facilities. The first being that patients are only allowed one healthy visitor per day. All visitors are required to have a scheduled appointment, visitation with a current patient, or an emergency needing medical treatment. In response to the increases in cases, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella issued advisories and emergency orders. "I am very pleased to be able to announce to you that we have signed the emergency order requiring hospitals once again to resume daily COVID reporting," said Mayor Levine Cava. "As cases continue to spread nationwide and worldwide and the peak of the holiday season approaching, it's as critical as ever that we all follow the key steps that we know will help prevent the spread of the disease." The order took effect December 17. "That's so we can monitor the caseload in the hospitals," she said. "We cannot allow our hospitals to be overwhelmed with cases. To stay ahead of the data, we are also sequencing for COVID variants at our county testing sites. As well, we're sampling wastewater to look for incidents." Both Dr. Paige and Dr. Andrews both said the best thing that can be done to protect yourself against the omicron variant is to get the vaccine or booster as soon as you can. They also emphasized that if you had contracted COVID earlier in the pandemic, to still get vaccinated. They also recommend wearing masks indoors and if you are having any sort of gathering, to limit the numbers or have it outdoors. The Miami Times is the largest Black-owned newspaper in the south serving Miami's Black community since 1923. The award-winning weekly is frequently recognized as the best Black newspaper in the country by the National Newspaper Publishers Association.