One day after the omicron variant was discovered in Monroe County, County Health Commissioner Dr. Michael Mendoza says it’s no surprise the variant has arrived to our area, adding it’s like the variant could already be the leading cause of infection.

Dr. Mendoza says he expects cases to rise in the coming weeks. There were close to 700 cases reported Thursday.

To counteract this, Dr. Mendoza says the county is working to order more rapid tests on top of the 750,000 delivered over the past couple of weeks. He wants to get as many people as possible vaccinated or boosted as well.

As for the school districts and when students return, at this time Dr. Mendoza says he anticipates children will return to the classroom on January 3.

He did warn about potential closures, like what happened in Pittsford. That district closed because of illness in the transportation department.