The omicron variant has now been confirmed in Sangamon County.
County health officials say there have been four confirmed cases of the highly-contagious variant of COVID-19. It marks the first proof of a local presence for a variant that federal officials say will likely become the dominant form of COVID in the weeks to come. Meanwhile, two more unvaccinated county residents have died of the virus. A woman and a man, both in their 60s, bring the county’s overall total to 307 fatalities.
The county had more than 900 new cases over the long Christmas weekend from Friday to Monday, including two days of more than 300 confirmed cases each, as total local cases have jumped to more than 31,900 since the start of the pandemic.