New version of omicron detected in Maine as wastewater tests show steep decline in COVID-19
Researchers in Maine have detected the first cases of a new omicron variant that is being monitored around the world and appears to be more contagious than the version that swept through the state and the rest of the country during the past three months.
Based on experience in other parts of the world, however, the new version of the virus is not expected to drive another surge of cases in Maine.
Testing wastewater finds “people who are symptomatic as well as asymptomatic, people who are tested and not tested,” says Dr. Yolanda Brooks, assistant professor of biology at St. Joseph’s College in Standish. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
And data being collected in Maine from wastewater testing continues to show a dramatic decline in coronavirus levels.