Now-dominant Omicron variant drives surge in COVID cases across U.S. (updated)
20/12/2021 20:18
(Adds Boston vaccine mandate, New York health commissioner
testing positive)
By Maria Caspani and Gabriella Borter
NEW YORK, Dec 20 (Reuters) - COVID-19 cases surged in New
York City and across the United States over the weekend, dashing
hopes for a more normal holiday season, resurrecting
restrictions and stretching the country's testing infrastructure
ahead of holiday travel and gatherings.
The fast-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus has
become dominant in the United States with lightning speed, and
claimed the life on Monday of an unvaccinated man in Texas,
officials said.
The spike in COVID-19 cases is alarming public health
officials, who fear an explosion of infections after the
Christmas and New Year's holidays.
The Omicron variant now accounts for 73% of U.S. coronavirus
infections based on sequencing data for the week ended on
Saturday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
said on Monday.
With the new variant in circulation, COVID-19 cases are now
doubling in 1-1/2 to three days in areas with community
transmission, the World Health Organization said on Saturday.
Lines for COVID-19 tests wrapped around the block in New
York, Washington and other U.S. cities over the weekend as
people clamored to find out if they were infected before
celebrating the holidays with family.
"I just want to make sure before seeing my wife's
70-year-old mom that I'm negative," said David Jochnowitz while
waiting for a test in Washington.
With the rapid rise in infections, Washington Mayor Muriel
Bowser on Monday reinstated an indoor mask mandate until the end
of January and required government workers to get vaccinated,
including a booster shot.
"I think we're all tired of it," Bowser told reporters. "I'm
tired of it too, but we have to respond to what's happening in
our city and what's happening in our nation."
In New York City, COVID-19 cases rose 60% in the week that
ended on Sunday as Omicron spread rapidly around the U.S.
Northeast. New York has set records for the most new cases
reported in a single day since the pandemic started for three
consecutive days.
"It is a predictor of what the rest of the country will see
soon, and the minimum - since NYC is highly vaccinated - of what
other parts of the country will experience in under-vaccinated
cities and states," said Georges Benjamin, executive director of
the American Public Health Association.
Many Broadway productions canceled performances as cast and
crew have become infected. The popular "Hamilton" production on
Monday extended cancellations until after Christmas due to
breakthrough COVID-19 infections.
Breakthrough infections are rising among the 61% of the
country's fully vaccinated population, including the 30% who
have gotten booster shots.
Omicron appears to be causing milder symptoms in vaccinated
populations, and health experts remain optimistic this wave
might not cause the same spikes in hospitalizations and deaths
as previous surges.
A man in his 50s from the eastern part of Harris County,
Texas, who was not vaccinated died on Monday from an infection
caused by the Omicron variant, County Judge Lina Hidalgo posted
on Twitter. The county, where Houston is located, was also the
site of the first recorded U.S. Omicron case, on Dec. 6.
The man was the first local fatality from the variant,
Hidalgo said. ABC News reported it is believed to be the first
known U.S. death related to Omicron. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2T600S
'JUST STAY HOME'
New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi said on
Monday that while new COVID-19 cases have "increased sharply,"
hospitalizations have not jumped at the same rate. He credited
vaccinations and booster shots, which help prevent severe
illness, and urged that more were needed to build a "seawall"
against the variant.
The spread of Omicron prompted Duke University in Durham,
North Carolina, on Monday to require all students, faculty and
staff to get a COVID-19 booster shot for the upcoming spring
semester.
Nationally, cases rose 9% in the past week but are up 57%
since the start of December, according to a Reuters tally.
Hospitalized COVID-19 patients have increased 26% this month,
with hospitals in some areas already strained by the Delta
variant.
The Omicron variant was more than 90% dominant in regions
including parts of the Northeast, the Southeast and the
Northwest, according to DNA sequencing of the virus collected by
the CDC for the week ended Saturday.
That is a sharp increase from the previous week, when the
virus accounted for just about 3% of sequenced cases.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced strict new rules
requiring patrons and employees at restaurants, bars, gyms and
entertainment venues to be vaccinated. The rules, to be phased
in over three months starting in January, will ultimately apply
to children as young as five, and all adults.
Midwest hospitals were still dealing with a surge in
patients from a Delta wave this fall. Michigan, Indiana and Ohio
have the nation's most-hospitalized COVID-19 patients per
100,000 residents, a Reuters tally found.
In New York City, the daily test rate reached an average of
130,000 per day, Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters on Monday,
more than double three weeks ago.
President Joe Biden will deliver a speech on Tuesday on how
to deal with Omicron, the White House said. The president tested
negative for COVID-19 after a mid-level White House staff member
who had spent about 30 minutes near Biden on Friday tested
positive on Monday morning, the White House said. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2T600P
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on Monday she was
ramping up the state’s testing program, with 1 million kits
arriving this week and the same amount in each of the next two
weeks.
“More and more people are going to be testing positive from
this," she said. For those who do, she advised: "Just stay home,
do not go out. Don't go to work. Don't go see your family."
The state's health director, Dr. Mary Bassett, is among
those who have tested positive for COVID-19, Hochul said.
Omicron's arrival is a headwind for an economic revival in
New York that already lags the rest of the country, especially
where employment is concerned.
The pandemic delivered an even larger body blow to the city
than the rest of the country because of the outsized role played
by tourism, leisure and hospitality, which suffered the worst
under lockdowns and travel restrictions. New York's jobless rate
topped out at 20% in the spring of 2020 - more than 5 percentage
points above the U.S. average, and is still 9%, more than twice
the national rate.
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Unemployment in New York remains high https://tmsnrt.rs/3mfTB4P
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(Reporting by Maria Caspani in New York, Lisa Shumaker in
Chicago and Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Calif.; Additional
reporting and writing by Gabriella Borter in Washington and
Peter Szekely in New York; Additional reporting by Carl
O'Donnell in New York and and Greg Savoy in Washington; Editing
by Bill Berkrot, Peter Cooney and Sonya Hepinstall)
((Gabriella.Borter@thomsonreuters.com; 646 223 5942;))