NEWS

Omicron variant overwhelms testing in Wilmington, exacerbates holiday spike in cases

Sydney Hoover
Wilmington StarNews

With people traveling across the country and families gathering for the holidays, many for the first time in months or years, health officials anticipated a spike in coronavirus cases to kick off the new year.

But with the new omicron variant spreading much more quickly and easily than previous forms of the virus, those numbers have skyrocketed in a short period of time, leaving the community searching for sparse access to tests and doctor’s appointments. 

“The bad news is that a small percentage of a very large number of cases is still very impactful, still disruptive to workplaces, hospital systems, health care systems, doctor’s offices, testing availability, all of those factors that we were trying to keep in place to manage the navigation of this pandemic,” said New Hanover County Health Director David Howard. 

Following the holidays in 2020 and into the beginning of 2021, New Hanover County saw a spike that reached 239 new cases on Jan. 4, 2021. With omicron now making up as much as 95% of cases in the U.S., cases have peaked much higher than that in the Wilmington-area, with the county tracking just under 400 new cases on Dec. 29, 2021.  

In this StarNews file photo, a lab assistant collects samples from a patient during COVID-19 testing at Wilmington Health in Porters Neck. The omicron variant has caused a drastic spike in cases, leaving testing availability sparse.

New Hanover County now has a positivity rate of over 20%, slightly under the statewide positivity rate of 27%. 

The good news, Howard said, is while omicron is spreading rapidly, it is showing less severe illness, especially in people who are vaccinated and boosted. 

He said while hospitalization rates have risen, including some patients under 18, there are only six COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit. All six are unvaccinated. 

“It’s still a huge advantage to be vaccinated and boosted,” he said. 

The rapid spread of omicron has put strain on other sectors, though, including on the demand for testing. Howard said the manufacturers of the tests can’t keep up with the sudden spike in demand for tests, making it difficult to get tested quickly after symptoms appear or an exposure is identified. 

Howard said anyone who is showing symptoms or believes they may have been exposed to the virus should isolate for the new five-day period recommended by the CDC, even if testing isn’t immediately available. He said it can be assumed it’s COVID-19, and even if it’s not, it’s likely another virus that would result in staying home from work or school, like the flu. 

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Residents should continue wearing masks inside public spaces, social distancing when possible and practicing good hygiene to mitigate the spread of the omicron variant, despite illness from omicron typically being less severe than in past variants. 

He also said while the vaccine wasn’t created specifically for the omicron variant, it still helps in minimizing symptoms and spread of the virus, and people should continue seeking out the vaccine both for their own protection and for the benefit of the community as a whole. 

He said if everyone continues to do their part for the next four-to-six weeks, the community could see a notable drop in cases in the spring, assuming another variant doesn’t pop up before then. 

“It'll decrease the absenteeism from workplaces or schools and those kinds of impacts and disruptions of people being sick,” he said. “Everyone chipping in with those mitigation measures voluntarily over the next several weeks will greatly assist.” 

Tests can be accessed as available at local healthcare facilities, retail pharmacies and other organizations. COVID-19 vaccines are also available at healthcare facilities and retail pharmacies, as well as at the New Hanover County Health Department at the following times: 

  • Health and Human Services building, 2029 S. 17 St.: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday. 
  • Independence Mall: noon to 5 p.m. Monday and Friday and noon to 7 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. 

Reporter Sydney Hoover can be reached at 910-343-2339 or shoover@gannett.com.