Omicron sublineage not yet detected in O.C., but public health officials say caution is warranted

As Orange County begins to see COVID-19 cases stabilize, public health officials caution people to continue following safety measures with the emergence of BA.2, a sub-lineage of Omicron.

The sublineage has not yet been detected in O.C., but neighboring counties such as Los Angeles have identified four cases as of last week, according to Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, deputy county health officer.

“Everybody still has to take into consideration their own risk,” Chinsio-Kwong told reporters on a conference call Wednesday. “As you’ve been hearing ... the Omicron variant as well as the sublineage are highly transmissible so if the concern for the individual who is high risk or is concerned they are going to get COVID, probably hold out a little longer if you can.”

Viruses change overtime, according to the World Health Organization, and most variations have “little to no impact on the virus’ properties.” However, WHO said it was worth studying as the sublineage pops up in other countries, such as Denmark.

It’s not entirely clear how this sublineage will impact the county, but Chinsio-Kwong said “it may prolong this tail end of the surge and may prolong our case rates.”

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As of Wednesday afternoon, the Orange County Health Care Agency reported an additional 1,528 new cases and 16 new deaths, bringing the cumulative total to 520,166 cases and 6,126 fatalities since the pandemic began.

Although there was a dip in hospitalizations, from 872 to 846, hospitals remain strained. Some have not yet resumed select elective surgeries in order to care for coronavirus patients, Chinsio-Kwong said.

Pediatric hospitalizations and ICU admissions are also on a gradual decline. Chinsio-Kwong said that at one point over 50 children were hospitalized “on any given day,” with about 18 of them in the ICU, but there are now about 37 hospitalized with COVID-19.

“I know people are tired of hearing about masks, vaccines and testing, but we must continue to do our part to follow all of the preventative measures against COVID-19 to help minimize everyone’s risk of getting infected and reduce the strain on our healthcare system,” she said in a statement.

To learn more about COVID-19 in O.C., visit: occovid19.ochealthinfo.com/coronavirus-in-oc.

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