BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) issued a Wednesday afternoon report announcing 48 additional cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

LDH adds that none of the new cases required hospitalization.

This brings the total number of Omicron cases in the state to 93.

The first confirmed Omicron case in Louisiana was identified on December 3.

The following is a total breakdown of cases by region:

-Region 1 (Greater New Orleans Area): 81 - 71 probable; 10 confirmed
-Region 2 (Baton Rouge Area): 3 probable
-Region 4 (Acadiana): 1 confirmed
-Region 7 (Northwest): 6 - 2 probable; 4 confirmed
-Region 9 (Northshore): 2 - 1 probable; 1 confirmed

Not all cases of Omicron can be identified, which means there are likely more cases of Omicron occurring in Louisiana than are reflected in the above case counts.

Within Louisiana, Omicron outbreaks have been identified in universities, and in high-risk settings such as K-12 schools and nursing homes.

The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) estimates that the proportion of Omicron among circulating variants is currently 2.9% nationwide.

Louisiana estimates that the proportion of Omicron among LA variants is 4.3% for the week ending December 4.

LDH says it expects transmission of Omicron will increase.