MDH: Omicron circulating throughout the state

(ABC 6 News) – The Minnesota Department of Health says the Omicron variant is spreading all throughout the state.

While the state’s testing efforts are doing better than other states, at this point state health officials say it’s not just up to Minnesota to decide when an endemic begins. It’s up to the world.

"We’ve had a lot of twists and turns with this virus," said Kris Ehresmann, Director Infectious Disease Epidemiology with the Minnesota Department of Health. "We’ll have to wait and see. I think the other thing to keep in mind is too, that you know, everything that we’ve experienced has come from other parts of the world. So as we’re working to ensure our population is vaccinated, we want to make sure that the global population has access to vaccines."

Friday, the Minnesota Department of Health reported more than 7,800 new cases and 33 additional deaths.