On average nearly 118,000 new COVID cases are being reported daily just as millions of Americans are prepared to hit the road and airports for the holiday season. This comes as omicron continues to spread. There are millions of Americans waiting in line to get a COVID test.
In New York City the cases of COVID have nearly tripled in the last week. Friday in New York State there were over 21,000 positive cases reported Friday. From the surge of cases Friday many things across the state are canceling like the Rockets canceled the rest of there shows for the rest of 2021.
Health officials are sounding the alarm that new COVID-19 cases are up 36% in the last 2 weeks by the delta variant and omicron continues to spread. Dr Fauci predicts omicron could become the dominant strain in the United States soon saying in the White House COVID response press briefing “Omicron is looking over our shoulders…I would assume it would be the dominant strain in the coming weeks.”
Officials across the country are preparing for the worst even though cases have been reported mild if someone contracted the omicron variant. The CDC is expecting cases to surge 57% in the coming days as millions of Americans travel home for the holidays. The CDC is expecting as many as 1.3 million new cases this week alone.
The CDC continues to say that this surge should not scare people because of the wide availability of vaccines and boosters. The CDC urges anyone that hasn’t been vaccinated to do so and if your last shot was 6 months also or more to get a booster.
Last week the CDC voted unanimously to discourage anyone 18 years and older from getting the Johnson and Johnson vaccine citing evidence that it could trigger a rare blood disorder linked to at least 9 deaths.
Due to the increasing reports of COVID surging, the list of companies that are telling employees to work from home is continuing to grow. Citi Bank announced its employees in New York and New Jersey could begin working from home again.
With Christmas this week the demand for tests is growing with the concern of traveling with millions of other Americans. Experts are recommending to test before you fly to your destination and test again before you travel home.
