What you need to know about the current status of omicron cases
December 28, 2021 - On Monday, it was reported that there have been over 500,000 new Covid-19 cases, which is drastically worse than any other single day of the entire pandemic. The omicron coronavirus variant, which has dominated the delta variant, has spiked by 35% for unvaccinated children nationwide in pediatric hospitalizations. Florida has seen an overall 127.8% increase in hospitalizations of children with Covid-19 week-over-week, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC on Monday cut the amount of time it recommends people should isolate after testing positive for Covid-19 as well as the quarantine period after coming into contact with someone who tests positive. The change “is motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the 1-2 days prior to the onset of symptoms and the 2-3 days after," according to the CDC. However, many in the scientific community have debated on the guidance of decreasing the isolation period as Covid-19 cases continue to soar. The City of St. Petersburg tweeted a reminder that many Covid-19 testing sites remain open in the region.