First reported positive case of COVID omicron variant in NC is tied to college student
North Carolina’s first confirmed positive test for the omicron variant of COVID-19 came from a student at UNC Charlotte who had gone out of state during Thanksgiving, local health officials said Friday.
The CDC reported on Friday that it identified 43 cases of the highly mutated omicron variant across 22 states since Dec. 1 — not including North Carolina. Of those 43 cases, one person was hospitalized and there were no deaths.
The Charlotte student was isolated and has recovered. Exposure from the student was limited to one known contact, according to the county. Officials declined to say what state the student had visited.
In an email to students, the university said its on-campus sequencing lab identified a positive test from the student who had traveled out of state for Thanksgiving break. “All close contacts were notified through the university’s contact tracing protocols, and no additional positive cases have been identified,” the university wrote.
The student had returned to campus right after Thanksgiving and was tested at a campus facility. The student also had been vaccinated and had fairly mild symptoms, according to Rick Tankersley, Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development at the university.
At a news conference, local public health officials repeatedly urged people to get vaccinated if they have not already done so, as well as wear masks at public indoor settings and avoid large crowds.
“This virus is not going away,” county Health Director Dr. Gibbie Harris said. “That is probably the one thing we can say for certain.”
Harris said it was not unexpected that the variant has appeared here. “I’d be surprised if it hadn’t been here before,” she said.
Concerning COVID trends in NC
The confirmed case comes amid other worrying trends.
COVID-19 cases have increased for four consecutive weeks in North Carolina, dating back to Nov. 13, before Thanksgiving. In the past week, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported 21,175 new cases. In the three weeks prior, the state reported 16,178, 13,537 and 13,078.
“This was not a surprise. This was clearly predicted but hoped against,” said Dr. David Wohl, infectious disease specialist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Beyond the first case of omicron reported in North Carolina in Charlotte, Wohl said that he suspects there’s more of variant in the state, just not yet detected. But the real concern is those unvaccinated, whether from the currently dominant delta or the new variant omicron, overloading hospitals, he said.
“We will, for sure, for sure, see an increase in cases ... as omicron spreads,” Dr. Katie Passaretti, Atrium Heath’s vice president and chief epidemiologist, said during a news conference Friday.
But, she added, omicron’s arrival “is no cause for panic,” because people are now far better prepared for the arrival of new variants than they were earlier in the pandemic.
COVID in Mecklenburg
The number of people hospitalized with COVID in Mecklenburg County increased during the final weeks of November.
As of Nov. 30, when Mecklenburg County released its latest data report, its positivity rate was 8.3% — well above the threshold to remove the mask mandate. On Saturday, the seven-day average of new daily cases was at 253, up from 169 on Nov. 1.
Omicron was first discovered by doctors in South Africa late in November, but the variant did not necessarily emerge there. Its nation or region of origin is unknown.
The first case of the variant within the U.S. was reported in California on Dec. 1. Since then, it’s been found in more than 20 other states, now including North Carolina and neighboring Georgia.
Tankersley said the sequencing process — how labs determine whether a case is that of a COVID variant — allows labs to easily identify omicron from the delta variant. The omicron variant carries certain unique mutations that are not found in other variants, he said.
That process takes about five to seven days, Tankserley said.
COVID in the Triangle
In the Triangle, new cases have increased in each county since Thanksgiving.
Over the past two weeks, the total number of new cases reported in Wake, Durham and Orange counties is over 4,500. In the 14 days prior to Thanksgiving, it was under 3,500.
Omicron appeared inevitable in NC
Since Thanksgiving, North Carolina has seen an uptick COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations due to the disease, The News & Observer previously reported.
Infectious disease experts said previously that the arrival of omicron in North Carolina was inevitable, The News & Observer reported, despite the United States banning travel by non-citizens from South Africa and seven other countries in southern Africa a few days after the variant was discovered.
Much is unknown about omicron, but the variant has many mutations which concerns health officials due its potential for high transmission and resistance to immunity, both from natural infection and vaccines.
COVID vaccines urged
Pfizer announced Wednesday that a third-dose booster of its vaccine was found in laboratory tests to have a significantly better antibody response against omicron compared to just the two doses.
But how the vaccine will work in people is not yet known as the human immune system is more complex than just its antibodies.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services continues to recommend vaccination as the best prevention measure against COVID-19.
As of Dec. 1, the latest available data from DHHS, those unvaccinated are more than five times as likely to contract COVID-19 and over 25 times as likely to die from the disease, compared to those who are vaccinated.
As of Friday, 69% of adults in North Carolina are fully vaccinated. Among those eligible, ages 5 and up, 61% have received their shots.
Charlotte Observer reporter Joe Marusak contributed to this report
This story was originally published December 10, 2021 at 2:24 PM with the headline "First reported positive case of COVID omicron variant in NC is tied to college student."
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