São Paulo registers three more cases of omicron, and a total reaches 13

The Municipal Health Department of São Paulo said, on Friday (17), that three new cases of the omicron variant were identified in the capital. The total, so far, is 13 people infected with the new strain.

According to the folder, the two women, aged 22 and 65, and the man, aged 30, are not related to the 67-year-old patient, diagnosed with the variant on Friday (10). This confirms that they are cases of community transmission.

This Thursday (16), Ricardo Nunes (MDB) stated that the City of São Paulo already treats the transmission of the omicron variant as a community in the capital.

The three new patients have mild symptoms and deny having recently traveled or having any contact with travelers. According to the city, they are being monitored by health professionals and are quarantined at home.

This Thursday, the Health Department began offering rapid tests in Emergency Care Units (UPAs), Outpatient Medical Assistance (AMAs), Emergency Care (PAs) and emergency rooms, in the screening sector, to identify positive cases of Covid-19.

According to the folder, there are about 300 RT-PCR samples positive for Covid-19 weekly. Tests are by the antigen method in patients with flu-like symptoms.

The tests began to be carried out when the city was facing the flu outbreak, the influenza A H3N2 virus, the same one associated with the Rio de Janeiro flu epidemic.

According to the secretariat, in the first 15 days of December, 91,882 people were seen with flu-like symptoms, with 45,325 suspected cases of Covid-19, against a total of 111,949 patients in the entire month of November, with 56,220 of them having suspected of having the new coronavirus.

The flu outbreak has generated queues of up to six hours for assistance in the municipal network, as well as a great demand for vaccines in private clinics.