CRETE, NE — Six Nebraskans are infected with the new Omicron variant of COVID-19.

Public Health Solutions District Health Department (PHS) announced Friday that health officials detected the variant among residents of its district, which includes Gage, Fillmore, Jefferson, Saline and Thayer counties in southeast Nebraska. 

The Omicron variant is the latest strain of the coronavirus to generate concern among world health leaders. Officials worry it could be more infectious than previous strains. It was first classified as a new variant by the World Health Organization on Nov. 26. It was first detected in the United States in California on Wednesday and was reported in New York, Minnesota, Colorado and Hawaii on Thursday.

PHS says the first Nebraska case was likely exposed during travel to Nigeria. The person returned on Nov. 23 and became symptomatic on Nov. 24. PHS says the five other cases were likely exposed through household contact with the first case. One of the six people were vaccinated and none have required hospitalization.

In a news release, DHHS Acting State Epidemiologist Dr. Matthew Donahue encouraged Nebraskans to get vaccinated.

“The identification of omicron reinforces the urgency for Nebraskans to get vaccinated,” Donahue said. “The more Nebraskans are vaccinated, the less opportunity new SARS-CoV-2 variants will have to take hold in the state.”

Officials say the patient sought testing after showing symptoms and alerted PHS to their travel history. PHS coordinated testing for sequencing to identify the variant through the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory. Dr. Peter Iwen and Dr. Baha Abdalhamid at NPHL identified the omicron variant using the Clear Labs next generation whole genome sequencer.

Case investigations and contact tracing are ongoing. Public Health Solutions is hosting a virtual news conference this afternoon.

Following the announcement, Gov. Pete Ricketts issued a statement on Friday afternoon.

“In Nebraska, we have learned how to balance living a more normal life while protecting our healthcare system,” said Ricketts said. “Coronavirus will be with us forever.  That’s why we’ll continue that balance while also urging everyone to get vaccinated.  Nebraska has maintained one of the lowest coronavirus death rates and protected our hospital capacity all without lockdowns, without mask mandates, and without vaccine mandates.  We aren’t going to follow the Biden Administration or Dr. Fauci’s draconian policies.”