State Saw Omicron Signs Early

A finding in California supports the fear that the omicron coronavirus variant was spreading even before it was globally recognized. The state Department of Public Health said a mutation found in a wastewater sample on Nov. 25, a day before the World Health Organization announced omicron's existence, indicated the strain could have been in California by then, the Los Angeles Times reports. That was one day after the WHO learned of the variant from South African scientists.

A group of scientists at Stanford told the state it spotted the mutation in wastewater in Merced and Sacramento counties. The mutation is not proof positive of omicron but suggestive of it. So far, 14 cases have been reported throughout California, with the latest coming Friday in Santa Clara County. Houston and Boulder, Colorado, reported similar wastewater findings this week, per Fox News. "I was a little disappointed," Houston's chief medical officer said, adding that the discovery indicates community spread in the city. (More omicron variant stories.)