COVID Omicron Variant Detected in Missouri Lakes Region

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Tuesday, December 28, 2021 at 4:37 AM

By Scott McCaulley @smcckc

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The highly contagious omicron coronavirus variant has spread across much of Missouri, wastewater testing data released Friday shows.

The variant has now been detected at low levels in 15 of the 63 test locations with Branson being one of those locations according Jeff Wenzel, who oversees the wastewater surveillance program for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services tells the Associated Press.

He said the latest data shows the results of genetic sequencing conducted on samples that were collected the week of Dec. 13. Samples collected just one week earlier detected the variant in just two treatment facilities, one in St. Joseph and the other in the Kansas City area.

Wenzel said that for now delta remains the dominant strain, but the future is unclear.

(From KTLO/Associated Press)

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