Utah Department of Health confirms 1st case of omicron variant found in Southern Utah

The Utah Department of Health has confirmed the state’s first case of the omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus. The department said the individual who tested positive is described as an “older adult who lives within the Southwest Utah Public Health District” who recently came back to Utah from a trip to South Africa. The Southwest Utah Public Health District includes Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane and Washington counties.

A department spokesman declined to provide further information about the case, including when the person returned to Utah, got tested or the county they live in, out of respect for the individual’s privacy. Dr. Kelly Oakeson, the Utah Public Health Lab’s chief scientist for bioinformatics and next-generation sequencing, said it typically takes the state eight to 10 days from a person getting a COVID-19 test to the time a sequence result comes in, but this case was fast-tracked by testing the sample before it was a confirmed case.

Officials said the individual was fully vaccinated and had received monoclonal antibody treatment. The person is recovering at home with mild symptoms. Health department officials said that close contacts of the individual have been cooperative and are following isolation, quarantine and testing guidance of public health authorities.

Dr. Leisha Nolen, the state’s epidemiologist, said nobody who was in contact with the infected person has shown symptoms since the individual returned to Utah. Those people have been tested already and none of the results have come back positive.