Health department confirms COVID-19 Omicron variant in Madison Co.

JACKSON, TN (WNBJ) - As Madison County continues to report a high number of new COVID-19 cases. The Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department also confirmed that the Omicron variant has been discovered in the county.

“So, we are just trying to keep our heads above water here. It’s very difficult right now. We are seeing a very high number of COVID-19 cases, probably the worst that we’ve seen since this all started two years ago,” said Mallory Cooke, the Public Information Officer with the Jackson-Madison Co. Regional Health Department.

The public information officer at the Jackson- Madison County Regional Health Department described the influx of COVID cases.

“We announced 1,156 new cases today. The numbers are much higher than that. We only have so many staff right now who are trying to sift through this backlog of cases,” said Cooke.

The health department has also confirmed that the COVID variant Omicron is in Madison County.

“One thing we are seeing with Omicron is if one person in the house tests positive then probably the whole house is probably going to test positive. So, we are seeing entire households who are sick,” said Cooke.

The department also talks about the CDC’s new guidelines that say after testing positive and isolating for five days, you can come out of quarantine if you show no symptoms and have no fever.

“What we have seen here at our office, we’ve had some employees test positive. We have tested them before they come back to work on day six and their antigen test, which is a rapid test comes back positive. This means that they are still infectious. We had to send those folks back home to finish their full 10-day isolation period. I just want folks to know just because the CDC says you can come out doesn’t mean you should,” said Cooke.

The health department is still recommending that people get the COVID-19 vaccine and booster to prevent serious illness and hospitalizations.