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Spread of omicron variant causes workforce shrinkage in San Diego County

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SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — As the omicron variant spreads throughout San Diego County, a number of professions have had to deal with a shrinking workforce.

With many employees having to quarantine because of COVID-19, the latest numbers show some changes.

RELATED: In-Depth: COVID-19 forecast predicts California just hit its peak of omicron cases

San Diego Fire and Rescue is reporting a drop in the number of employees that are in isolation as of yesterday they have 77 firefighters compared to the 140 from January 6. They have 7 lifeguards compared to the 14 from two weeks ago.

Even data from the Point Loma Water Treatment plant which monitors the sewage for traces of COVID-19 is seeing a decrease in the virus detected.

What is also dropping is the number of patients who are testing positive at hospitals.

President and CEO of Scripps Health Chris Van Gorder says while this is encouraging news, this does not mean hospitals will not be as busy moving forward.

“As we all know hospitalizations lag one to three weeks after the peak of testing so we anticipate a busy and challenging month ahead," said Gorder.