PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A new omicron subvariant of COVID-19 may be making its way into Florida. Some Palm Beach County doctors said they are seeing an uptick in positive cases and think it could be XBB.1.5.
At Palm Beach Pediatrics, Pediatrician Dr. Shannon Fox-Levine said they've seen an uptick of COVID in patients in her office.
“We had gone really a month not really seeing many positives, in our office at least, and in the last three weeks, we have seen increasing amounts,” she said. “So, we are assuming it is the new variant that is coming into Florida.”
She said they only test children with symptoms that appear COVID-like or with a possible exposure.
“We went from having zero tests that were positive to having 20 percent with the tests we are doing, with the symptoms of fever, cough, sore throat, congestion,” she said.
Fox-Levine said the children who test positive appear to have mild symptoms.
“Most children have a mild flu-like illness. Fever, runny nose and cough,” she said. “We have not had anybody hospitalized recently. but there are still children in the community who are being hospitalized with COVID."
Some people told WPTV they are taking note of this new variant, while others said they feel like the virus is just part of life now.
“At this point, I just feel like it is something that is here to stay, and we are just going to have to deal with it,” West Palm Beach resident Lauren Olicker said.
The latest weekly COVID report for the state of Florida shows the first-time positivity rate in Palm Beach County at 19%, up from 15% three weeks ago. In Martin County, the positivity-rate is 13.3%, up from 10.6%.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention transmission levels show Indian River County is the only county in South Florida that is in low transmission.
Palm Beach, St. Lucie, Martin and Okeechobee counties' transmission levels are medium, while Miami-Dade County's is high.
“That’s just how viruses go," West Palm Beach resident Alexander Young said. "A virus does evolve with each new variant.”
Fox- Levine said there are still things you can do to protect yourself and your family. She advises to keep up proper hygiene, like hand washing, getting vaccinated, staying home if you are not feeling well and wearing a mask if you’re sick with cold symptoms.
“Being respectful of others and trying to cut down on the amount of illness in our community,” she said.
WPTV reached out to area hospitals for more insight on hospitalizations and are waiting for responses.