Updated with the full news release from the governor’s office below.
Kentucky’s first positive cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 have been reported, with cases locally in Kenton and Campbell counties, as well as Fayette (Lexington) and Jefferson (Louisville).
Governor Andy Beshear confirmed the specific locations of the new cases Saturday afternoon after first announcing Omicron cases in the state on Friday.
Covington-based Gravity Diagnostics detected the cases in Kenton, Campbell, and Fayette counties, Beshear said. Gravity Diagnostics operates COVID-19 testing locally.
Omicron is expected to spread more easily than the original virus and state officials on Saturday urged residents to be alert, to be vaccinated and boosted, and to wear masks indoors – and to upgrade those masks if indoors for an extended period of time.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the variant will likely spread more easily than the original virus, but says more data is needed to know if it will cause more severe illness.
The CDC also said that breakthrough infections are likely to occur in people who have been fully vaccinated, though current vaccines are expected to offer protections against severe illness, hospitalizations, and deaths.
Governor Beshear and Kentucky Health Commissioner Dr. Steve Stack reiterated these points on Saturday.
“This thing is going to spread so fast,” Beshear said, urging schools and businesses to implement mandatory masking, and warning that entire shifts of employees could be infected quickly.
Dr. Stack said that the Omicron variant will double in a community very quickly.
“Now that we found it here and we found it in the three big metro areas, it will spread incredibly rapidly,” Stack said. “We can effectively go from Omicron not being present at all to Omicron being half of more than all cases in the state in just the span of a week.
“In a month, it could outcompete everything else.”
Stack said that the Delta variant, which has been dominant and devastating in the U.S. and around the world since the summer, was able to spread that rapidly in two months.
Omicron, he warned, could do that in a month or less.
“It is clearly a different chapter in this journey,” Stack said.
“We have found a way to live with COVID-19, we found a way to go back to work and stay in school,” Beshear said. “Folks, I am telling you if we don’t make the decision to put on a mask, … it’s going to disrupt everything we’ve worked so hard to get back and going.”
Stack and Beshear also warned that some therapeutic medications available, or set to become available, may not be as effective against the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
The CDC said that scientists are working to determine how well existing treatments for COVID will work.
Based on the changed genetic make-up of Omicron, some treatments are likely to remain effective while others may be less effective, the CDC website says.
From the Office of Governor Andy Beshear:
Today, Gov. Andy Beshear urged rigorous masking in schools and workplace settings after testing confirmed the fast-spreading COVID-19 omicron variant in multiple Kentucky counties.
“This thing is going to spread so fast that any school that is not doing mandatory masking, any business that is not having their folks wear masks could see entire schools, entire shifts get infected very, very quickly,” Gov. Beshear said. “Folks I’m telling you: If we don’t make the decision to put back on that mask in these situations, it’s going disrupt everything we’ve worked so hard to get back up and going.”
The Governor said Gravity Diagnostics reported positive omicron tests Friday to the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH). The positive tests were from patients in Kenton, Campbell and Fayette counties.
In addition, wastewater testing by the University of Louisville and the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health & Wellness detected the presence of the omicron variant in Jefferson County.
Dr. Steven Stack, commission of the KDPH, said: “The omicron variant of COVID-19 is probably one of the most transmissible or contagious infections we’ve had in the last century at least. To put this into perspective, one person who gets influenza may infect one to two people. The delta variant really escalated COVID’s transmissibility, and one person with the delta variant might infect up to five other people under the right situations. Omicron now, it may be that one person with omicron may infect up to 18 or 20 other people.”
Key facts about the omicron variant:
- It is much more transmissible than other variants.
- It appears to take a much smaller amount of omicron to produce spread.
- So far, omicron appears to cause mostly mild disease. South Africa and the United Kingdom, where there already is significant spread, have not reported severe rises in hospitalizations. However, it is too soon to tell how Kentucky will fare.
- Recent data suggests monoclonal antibody treatments may not be as effective a treatment against the omicron variant.
The Governor noted that vaccinations and boosters are still the best lines of defense.
Key points on vaccines:
- Three doses of the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) appear to provide very good protection against severe COVID disease and death.
- Mild breakthrough cases appear more common with the omicron variant than delta variant.
- Currently, 62% of Kentuckians are fully vaccinated. Every eligible person 5 and older should get vaccinated as soon as possible. Those who have recovered from COVID also should be vaccinated.
- Everyone 16 and older who is at least six months past receiving their second dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine should get a booster dose as soon as possible.
- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently said the mRNA vaccines are preferred over the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Those who previously had the J&J shot are encouraged to get a Pfizer or Moderna booster dose.
Michael Monks, editor & publisher
Photo: Licking River between Campbell and Kenton counties, which are connected by the 4th Street Bridge (RCN file)