Maryland Reports 3 Cases of Omicron Variant

By Jack Moore

Maryland is reporting its first three cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus, Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) announced Friday afternoon.

All three cases are in people from the Baltimore area. Two cases involve people from the same household: a vaccinated person who recently traveled to South Africa, where the variant was first identified last week, and an unvaccinated person who was a close contact.

The third case is unrelated, involving a vaccinated Marylander with no known recent travel history.

None of three people have been hospitalized.

The governor’s office said comprehensive contact tracing efforts are now underway to quickly identify, quarantine and test close contacts.

Many details about the omicron variant remain unknown, including whether it spreads more easily, whether it makes more people more ill, whether it more easily slips past the protection offered by existing coronavirus vaccines and whether the variant is more likely to cause reinfections in people who previously had COVID-19.

Maryland is now the sixth state to report the presence of omicron. The first case in the U.S. was reported in California on Dec. 1.

State and local health officials say there is no reason to panic but urged residents to take precautions, such as getting booster COVID-19 vaccine doses, recently recommended for all U.S. adults if it’s been more than six months since their last shot.

“We urge Marylanders to continue taking precautions to keep themselves and their loved ones safe,” Hogan said in a statement. “Getting a vaccine or a booster shot is the single most important thing that you can do to protect yourself and those around you. This is a rapidly evolving situation, and we will continue to keep Marylanders updated as new information becomes available.”

Earl Stoddard, assistant chief administrative officer for Maryland’s most populous county, said Montgomery County has been preparing for the appearance of omicron in Maryland.

“We have been anticipating and preparing for this,” he said on Twitter Friday afternoon. “It will be found elsewhere in Maryland, including Montgomery County, in the coming days/weeks. No reason to panic.”

Anne Arundel County Health Officer Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman urged vaccinations and boosters.

“The good news is that we know what we need to do to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant. It’s the same as what we do now. Get vaccinated, wear your mask in public settings, and get tested if you have symptoms,” Kalyanaraman said.

As it stands now, about 80% of adults in Maryland are fully vaccinated. More than 1 million Marylanders have received a booster shot.

The variant’s presence in the Maryland cases was confirmed by lab testing. Currently available PCR tests and rapid antigen will detect COVID-19 caused by the variant, although the variant is identified by a process known as sequencing.

Maryland Deputy Health Secretary Dr. Jinlene Chan strongly recommended that Marylanders have recently returned from international travel or are experiencing symptoms should get tested immediately.

The delta variant, a previous variant of concern, which began spreading in the U.S. last spring, is now the dominant strain in both Maryland and the U.S.

This breaking news story has been update. 

As part of Maryland Matters’ content sharing agreement with WTOP, we feature this article from Jack Moore. Click here for the WTOP News website.

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