News of Omicron COVID variant comes just as North Texans getting back to normal

DALLAS - The news about the new Omicron variant comes as North Texas health officials are getting the delta surge under control.

Hospitalizations are the lowest they've been since the start of this summer.

The World Health Organization’s announcement of a new variant is concerning some, but there’s not a real understanding of its impact just yet.

In the meantime, people said they are confident the vaccine will protect them.

"Everyone is out shopping, everyone is getting back to doing what they normally do during this season, I think it’s a good thing," Chimere Douglas said.

The day after Thanksgiving meant Black Friday shopping, and parking lots were full across the Metroplex.

This comes at a time when North Texas COVID hospitalizations are the lowest since late July.

It’s also a sharp contrast from the more than 2,300 COVID patients that were in the hospital this time last year.

Those FOX 4 spoke to said Thanksgiving had more family this year.

Some said it was because cases are low and more people are vaccinated.

"That did give me comfort, because all of my family members are vaccinated," Angelica Kaiser said. "Some of us are on our third dose, but everyone has had the second."

"This year was better than what I expected it to be. The turnout was better, I wasn’t really expecting the family to come, we had more family come over this year," Douglas said.

There could be a new concern on the horizon.

Friday, the WHO identified the Omicron variant.

It’s been detected in South Africa, and starting Monday, the U.S. will ban travel from some African countries.

It’s unknown if this will spread as fast as delta variant, but there’s concern some people could be re-infected with the virus because of this mutation.

"We have to learn to live with it, take in the precautionary measures and we will have to see what is going on with this new variant," Kaiser said.

Statewide, nearly 60% of people ages 5 and older are fully vaccinated.

In El Paso, COVID cases are starting to trend back up. This month, the positivity rate there went up to 14%.

Here in North Texas, COVID cases remain lower than they had been at the end of the summer, but new cases are ticking up.

While some are concerned, people like Douglas say they’re ready for normal.

"I am not living in fear," she said.

New COVID case reporting is delayed due to the holidays.

It could take a few weeks to see if there will be an impact on cases and hospitalizations from families and friends getting together for the Thanksgiving holiday.