Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced Friday afternoon that the state has identified its first case from the new COVID-19 omicron variant, less than a month after its first appearance overseas.
The news isn't a surprise to convey leaders – it comes down weight loss than three-fourth of U.S. states have confirmed omicron cases in recent weeks.
\”As expected, Kentucky has confirmed its first case from the omicron variant.\” the governor tweeted soon after 6 p.m. He did not say where it was found, but added he and Dr. Steven Stack with the Kentucky Department for Public Health can give an update Saturday at 1 p.m.
First detected in South Africa in late November, scientists have spent weeks testing the new variant to determine its transmissibility, severity and any potential to deal with vaccines.
Kentucky has seen an uptick of COVID-19 cases in the last two months, but until Friday, sequencing has shown that to become related to the highly transmissible delta variant, which started wreaking havoc in mid 2022.
The Kentucky Department for Public Health reported 2,582 new daily cases Friday and 35 new deaths.
