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Don't assume if you get sick that you have the less infectious Omicron variant. Orange County Utilities says Delta is still out there.

Photo: Pixabay
Photo: Pixabay

Orange County Utilities says based on wastewater sampling that both the Delta and Omicron variants are still in the area. 

Although Omicron tends to be the more prevalent variant in Orange County, officials are warning residents that the more deadly variant Delta hasn’t completely disappeared. 

Ed Torres is the Director of Orange County Utilities. Torres says both variants have been detected in wastewater sampling that his department conducts.

“Just to give you an idea, the Omicron variant is circulating in our community between 97 percent to 99 percent. So it’s almost all Omicron. Even though that we still have the more dangerous, Delta and Delta plus around.”

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Torres says with this in mind, it's crucial people continue to practice good COVID health protocols at work, home and school. 

“But our public health response remains the same. Right? We have to continue the boosters and the precautions that we need to take."

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The county currently has a 35 percent 14-day rolling positivity rate. About 74 percent of eligible residents in the county have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

Danielle Prieur covers education in Central Florida.