Boxes of BinaxNow home COVID-19 tests made by Abbott and QuickVue home tests made by Quidel are shown for sale in November at a CVS store in Lakewood, Wash., south of Seattle. 

Major entertainment and sporting events are seeing cancellations. Hospitals in the U.S. are starting to become overwhelmed. Some states have imposed indoor mask mandates.

Familiar headlines from across the United States show the omicron variant is causing a COVID-19 surge as it sweeps the nation, but what is the outlook for East Texas?

One local health official said a surge is possible, and that residents should assume the omicron variant has already made its way into East Texas.

“We do expect to see case counts increase due to holiday travel and the fact that omicron is circulating in Texas, and now accounts for the majority of new cases in the U.S.,” said UT Health East Texas’ Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tom Cummins. Monday’s data shows 621 active cases in Smith County and 179 active cases in Gregg County, according to the Northeast Public Health District.

Cummins said a sharp, sudden rise in positive cases will be the first clue in the omicron variant present within the community.

“We’re only seeing a little bit of a bump, but not on the level that we’ve seen in other parts of the country,” Cummins said.

Nationwide, the variant is causing issues across the country that were seen in the early days of the pandemic. According to the LA Times, infections and hospital admissions in Michigan are close to the highest they’ve been since the spring. In Louisiana, NOLA.com reported a weekly total of 5,667 new cases, nearly triple the weekly rate a month ago.

Cummins said it’s important to note the delta variant has not gone away, but according to the Associated Press, omicron has become the dominant virus variant in the U.S., making up over 73% of new COVID cases.

When it comes to confirming a variant, testing technology, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and rapid tests, Cummins said, is still accurate in diagnosing COVID. Locally, a positive result would confirm COVID-19 but not necessarily which variant, as hospitals have to rely on the state for that determination. Rather than testing every specimen for the omicron variant’s specific genomic sequencing, the state selects random positive tests to test for the variant, possibly explaining why the area hasn’t seen a confirmed omicron case reported yet.

“It’s safe to assume it will be here. It’s kind of like last time with delta, we initially thought we’d escaped it but it just came a little later in time to us than it did to other places, but with Thanksgiving travel, Christmas travel, Christmas gatherings, it’s safe to say that it will be here before long,” Cummins said.

As weather fluctuates between hot and cold in East Texas amid flu season, Cummins said his biggest concern is residents will not do their part in containing COVID-19, dismissing mild symptoms that could ultimately be the omicron variant, causing significant, undocumented spreads.

“I’m more concerned about keeping people at home and not going to work or school or church, spreading the holiday cheer with whichever variant they may be carrying,” Cummins said.

He recommended keeping over-the-counter rapid tests in the home to test when mild symptoms present themselves. He also said the home tests are accurate.

“If you know you have a positive test, you know you should quarantine. Certainly, people can go and get a confirmation, PCR test or other testing platforms to confirm it, but at the end of the day, those tests are reliable if you’re symptomatic and test positive,” he said.

As a potential surge approaches East Texas, Cummins encouraged vaccines and masking in public, especially in crowded areas. He added that data shows those who have had three doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine have higher antibody resistance, even to the new mutated variant, and decreases the likelihood of severe infection, hospitalization or death.

In Texas, the Department of State Health Services reported 47,413 new cases in the last seven days. Nationwide, about 120,000 cases are being identified each day, up from 80,000 a few weeks ago.