TAMPA, Fla. — Editor's Note: The video in the player above is from when Florida had its first reported case of the omicron variant.
After seeing a steady decline in new COVID-19 cases, Florida is once again starting to see numbers trend upward.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID Data Tracker, new reported cases of coronavirus reached 2,590 as of Dec. 10. The last time the state saw cases that high was in October.
The same goes for the Sunshine State's seven-day moving average. The data tracker shows Florida is averaging 2,016 cases as of Dec. 10 compared to the 2,115 it averaged on Oct. 23.
The recent incline in cases COVID-19 data charts are showing come after Florida saw a dip around Thanksgiving. But then came along the omicron variant.
The variant, found in nearly 40 countries, was first confirmed in the U.S. on Dec. 1. Since then, health officials in 27 states, including Florida, have confirmed their own cases of the variant.
Omicron, designated by the World Health Organization as a "variant of concern" in late November, was first reported in South Africa. Its country of origin is unclear. WHO said it is currently unknown whether the omicron variant has different symptoms or is more transmissible than other variants.
The variant appears to have been behind a recent spike in COVID-19 infections in South Africa. Early reports from South African doctors suggest the omicron variant is milder than the delta variant.
As the omicron variant sweeps through South Africa, Dr. Unben Pillay is seeing dozens of sick patients a day. Yet he hasn't had to send anyone to the hospital.
That's one of the reasons why he, along with other doctors and medical experts, suspect that the omicron version really is causing milder COVID-19 than delta, even if it seems to be spreading faster.
"They are able to manage the disease at home," Pillay said of his patients. "Most have recovered within the 10 to 14-day isolation period."
In the two weeks since omicron first was reported in Southern Africa, other doctors have shared similar stories. All caution that it will take many more weeks to collect enough data to be sure, their observations and the early evidence offer some clues.
But the U.K. appears to not be fairing as well when it comes to omicron. Several media outlets report U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed Monday that at least one person who was infected with the new variant had died.
Per CNBC, U.K. health Secretary Sajid Javid also noted that the variant is spreading at a "phenomenal rate" and has been causing cases to double every few days.