A few specialized labs in the state – at Oregon Health & Science University, Oregon State University, University of Oregon and the state public health lab – have only confirmed about two dozen omicron cases to date but officials said that’s because sequencing, which identifies the DNA of the virus, takes more time than a PCR, or molecular test. That tests shows whether someone has the virus but doesn’t identify the variant.

OHSU's statewide COVID-19 forecast suggests an acceleration in the rate of hospitalizations due to the omicron variant, with a peak at the end of January.

Oregon is seeing a surge in COVID-19 cases due to the highly contagious omicron variant. The latest projections from Oregon Health and Science University data scientist Peter Graven are less dramatic than the modeling he shared in mid-December, but he still says omicron hospitalizations will exceed those from the delta surge. Additional comments from Dawn Nolt, a professor of pediatrics and infectious diseases at OHSU.

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Dr. Eliza Hayes Bakken is a pediatrician from OHSU and said one of the most important things parents can do before sending their kids back is to talk to them about the current surge.

A spokesperson for OHSU said they’re working as fast as they can during a surge in post-holiday demand and that they re-routed people to the Portland Expo Center to clear up that line. They tell us as the Omicron surge grows in Portland, demand for COVID-19 testing is outpacing resources.

“What we're seeing is a trend and its zeroing in on Oregon next and you know, it’s essentially imminent,” said Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) epidemiologist Dr. Peter Graven. “We know that omicron makes up a large share of all the cases right now, and is expected to spread through both vaccinated and unvaccinated populations shortly."

According to Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, a COVID-19 surge driven by the omicron variant is expected to peak at the end of January with hospitalizations at about 1,650 people. Oregon hospitalizations peaked at 1,187 on Sept. 1 during the surge of infections from the delta variant.

Even health care workers are getting sidelined during the rapid rise of the Omicron variant, the most contagious strain of novel coronavirus to hit the US. "Our health system is at a very different place than we were in previous surges," emergency medicine professor Dr. Esther Choo said. "This strain is so infectious that I think all of us know many, many colleagues who are currently infected or have symptoms and are under quarantine," said Choo, associate professor at Oregon Health and Science University.

Director of OHSU's Office of Advanced Analytics, Peter Graven says we're looking at a larger surge than the delta variant.