omicron cases

If you test positive for COVID-19 after quarantining and no longer showing symptoms, do you still have to remain in isolation?

The rapid spread of the highly-contagious omicron variant continues to prompt concerns worldwide, including for many people who’ve already experienced a bout of the coronavirus.

If you test positive for COVID and isolate, do you need a negative test before you can see people again? What if you were exposed but have no symptoms?

With many patients reporting sore throats in omicron COVID cases, a debate over whether or not to add throat swabs to testing methods has sparked, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cautioned that such advice could be dangerous in some cases.

A couple of factors are at play, starting with the emergence of the highly contagious omicron variant. Omicron is more likely to infect people, even if it doesn’t make them very sick, and its surge coincided with the holiday travel season in many places.

With omicron now the dominant strain in the U.S. and cases rapidly rising across Illinois and the country, experts say there are some symptoms that appear prominent with the new COVID variant and differ from what many came to expect with the delta variant.

A look back at the top news headlines for this week in news with Lisa Chavarria.

The first confirmed omicron variant case in suburban Cook County has been reported, health officials announced Wednesday.

A look back at the top news headlines for this week in news with Lexi Sutter. .

The rapidly spreading omicron variant has been detected in more than a dozen states across the US, including some in the Midwest.

“Natural immunity, that doesn’t seem to be holding,” said Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady discussing the rapidly spreading omicron COVID-19 variant. She emphasized that early case studies are suggesting the importance of COVID booster shots.

Here are the states that have reported confirmed cases, and what we know about each one.

So far, the omicron variant has been detected in more than a dozen states across the country.

Like so many doctors across the world, UIC’s Dr. Richard Novak is working to learn as much as possible about the new omicron COVID variant. The biggest question is if our current vaccines offer protection. NBC 5’s Lexi Sutter reports.

So far, the omicron COVID variant has been detected in 38 countries and six U.S. states.

As scientists identify cases of COVID-19 caused by the omicron variant in the United States, officials at all levels are working to prevent renewed surges of the virus as the holiday season moves along. NBC 5’s Natalie Martinez has more.

The first Midwest cast of the omicron COVID variant has been confirmed in Minnesota, the state’s health department said Thursday, via a specimen from a resident “with recent travel history to New York City.”

So far, the omicron COVID variant has been detected in 23 countries and 2 U.S. states.

The first case of the omicron COVID variant has been identified in the United States, and officials are working through their next steps as they work to learn more about the variant. NBC 5’s Lexi Sutter has the details.

Though the new omicron COVID-19 variant has not yet been recorded in the U.S., Chicago’s top doctor said that it will likely be detected “soon.”