ND health officials spot testing for Omicron variant

While the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has not been identified in North Dakota – state health officials say they are watching for it.  The department’s Kirby Kruger says normal testing for the coronavirus doesn’t differentiate between strains.  “Our lab will take specimens that have tested positive by PCR and randomly select some to be further analyzed.”

Kreuger says there are a number of unknowns with the latest variant – including severity – but a lot of the old messaging still holds true to prevent its spread.  That includes:  vaccination…washing hands…masking…and avoiding large crowds.

Kruger says it’s unclear whether the latest variant will prompt more people to get jabbed.  “We are not trying to scare people into vaccination but if people are motivated by another variant we would encourage vaccination.”

The North Dakota Health Department today (Wednesday) reported 691 new cases of COVID-19 – including 73 in Grand Forks County.