Syracuse, N.Y. - Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon announcing today that there's an even different Omicron subvariant strain in the area and it explains the high case numbers recently reported.
BA2.12 is a highly contagious variant of BA 2. Onondaga County is the first location in NY were this new variant has been found. The variant is more contagious but still not as severe as the original Delta variant.
McMahon said there were 267 cases via labs reported today with 219 home cases over the past two days. 74 people in the hospital with 7 in ICU and he reported two deaths. So far a total of 1,097 people have died during the pandemic.
McMahon urged people as we head into a Holiday weekend, to once again use the tools we have with testing, vaccines, boosters, masks and therapeutics.