Sylvester Turner, mayor of Houston, the largest city of south central U.S. state of Texas, said on Friday that he tested positive for COVID-19 amid the spreading of the Omicron variant in the city, the state and the whole country.

"I was not feeling well overnight and thought I was suffering from allergies or a sinus infection, so I decided to get tested before starting my daily schedule," Turner said in a statement released by the mayor's office.