By Tim Mastro

DOVER — The Delaware Division of Public Health is increasing its surveillance of COVID-19 test samples with the emergence of the new omicron variant.

No cases of the omicron variant have been discovered in Delaware. A DPH spokesperson said Monday the state is sending more test samples to be sequenced for variants at the DPH lab and will continue to increase capacity in the coming weeks.

Omicron has been found in 17 states so far, including Maryland and Pennsylvania. The variant first originated in South Africa and has been classified as a “Variant of Concern” by both the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

DPH has regularly monitored the presence of COVID-19 variants through routine sequencing of test specimens throughout the course of the pandemic.

There were 450 test samples through this routine surveillance at DPH’s lab over the last two weeks. Of these samples, 245 (54.4%) were positive for a variant strain — all were the delta variant, which originated in India last summer and has been the prominent variant strain in the United States over the last several months. The delta variant is the only other “Variant of Concern” according to CDC.

An additional 37 specimens were found to be positive for the delta variant over the last two weeks, sequenced at an outside lab, DPH said.

DPH said it will continue to monitor the science around the omicron variant.

“While we still have more to learn about the Omicron variant, Delawareans should continue doing what we know works: get vaccinated, wear a mask in indoor public settings, socially distance from others and wash your hands regularly,” it said in a statement. “Vaccines remain the most critical tool to protect us against severe disease. Delawareans who are 5 years and older who have not received the vaccine should do so as soon as possible. This is especially important for our youngest eligible Delawareans, as they currently have the highest COVID-19 case rates.

“DPH also encourages those who have been vaccinated with at least one dose to complete the full vaccination series and every adult should receive a booster dose when eligible,” it added.

“Boosters increase the strength of your antibody response to protect you from the virus, and many of its mutations. All adults who completed a primary vaccination series with an mRNA vaccine at least six months ago and those who received a Johnson & Johnson shot at least two months ago are eligible for a booster.”

Public health officials have said it will take a few weeks to learn key aspects about this latest variant, including whether it’s more contagious, causes more severe illness or evades immunity, and if so, by how much.

President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said Sunday early reports on omicron are encouraging but scientists still need more information before drawing conclusions about omicron’s severity. Early indications from South Africa suggest it may be less dangerous than delta, which continues to drive a surge of hospitalizations.

“Thus far, it does not look like there’s a great degree of severity to it,” Dr. Fauci said. “But we have really got to be careful before we make any determinations that it is less severe or it really doesn’t cause any severe illness, comparable to delta.”

While omicron has not been found in Delaware, COVID-19 cases are on the rise.

The state is averaging 571.3 new cases per day over the last week — the highest number since Jan. 26. DPH reported 240 COVID-19 hospitalizations in Monday’s update, with 30 considered critical. Hospitalizations were down at 159 less than two weeks ago.

The statewide seven-day rolling average for percentage of positive tests is 8.5% as of Friday at 6 p.m. There is a two-day lag for percent-positive data to account for the time delay between the date of the test and the date DPH receives the test result.

Bridgeville is the ZIP code with the highest percent-positive rate as 16% of its tests from Nov. 27-Dec. 3 were positive. Ellendale is next with 15.2%. The lowest ZIP code is Hockessin which is at 2.9%.

The ZIP code positing the highest rate of new cases per 100,000 people is Smyrna, which recorded 631.1 cases per 100,000 people from Nov. 27-Dec. 3. Clayton had 621 cases per 100,000 for that week, followed by 581 cases per 100,000 in Ellendale.