Though at least three omicron cases have been reported in Florida, more residents have likely been infected because the new variant has been detected in wastewater in Central Florida, a city manager said on Monday about its process for detecting viruses.

The variant was recently confirmed in Altamonte Springs but through a process that conducts tests on samples of sewage or wastewater in that area, City Manager Frank Martz said in a phone conversation with the Florida Phoenix.

That means “the virus is here” and residents in the area have likely been infected with omicron, the contagious variant that first emerged in South Africa, Martz explained.

“It doesn’t exist in sewage, it exists in people,” Martz said in a phone conversation. “Testing sewage is the best way to find viruses of any kind before people get sick with them. This type of testing allows a community to confirm that a virus is in their area.”