Race on to find out if Omicron variant here locally as cases continue trending up

PITTSBURGH — The race is on to identify the omicron variant as Allegheny County’s cases continue to trend upward.

In the past 72 hours, the Allegheny County Health Department reported more than 1500 new cases and 10 more deaths.

And although we haven’t seen a case of omicron here yet, experts said tracking the data and information will be key in fighting this virus.

“The reality is we can have a better overall response to this pandemic the more data we have about these variants, how it’s traveling and how it’s impacted by the vaccine. And the sooner we know that, the better we are,” said Signature Diagnostic CEO Dave Colaizzi.

Colaizzi’s lab offers on-site testing at schools, companies, and as of late, hundreds of travelers.

“We’ve seen a pretty significant increase in people in whether they’re just proactively testing to try to be around family or because it’s a requirement of travel. We’re definitely starting to see a big uptick In terms of planning to get students back home to a variety of countries,” he said.

Colaizzi tells Channel 11 his lab is trying to take testing a step further. He says they are weeks away before they can test for specific variants like omicron. He tells us they’re planning to get a new machine called a sequencer that will help change their analytical process.

Colaizzi says the state hasn’t put any requirements on labs like his to report on any variants, but in his mind, if he can help identify it earlier, he can help stop community spread.

States ramp up contact tracing efforts as COVID-19 delta and omicron cases rise As more states report cases of the COVID-19 omicron variant, the World Health Organization says contact tracing will be a key to containing it.

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