The White House is not planning a lockdown in the US
Covid-19 cases have risen sharply in New York and across the United States over the weekend, dashed hopes of a more “normal” holiday season as they revive restrictions on Christmas and New Year gatherings and travel.
The number of infections worries public health officials who see the Omicron variant rapidly evolving into the dominant US executive and fear that after the holidays there will be an outbreak of cases.
The White House spokesman, however, assured that President Joe Biden does not intend to quarantine the United States. Tomorrow, his long-awaited speech will focus only on “access to testing” measures for the Covid-19. Regarding the operation of the schools, Jen Psaki said that the White House prefers to keep them open, but it is up to each local school district to decide.
With the new variant being released, cases are doubling every 1.5-3 days in areas where transmission is observed in the community, according to the World Health Organization. In New York, Washington and other cities over the weekend, queues of whole squares were formed by people who wanted to be tested to see if they were infected before traveling to celebrate with their families.
“I just want to make sure I’m negative before I see my wife’s 70 – year – old mother,” said David Djoknovic as he waited for the test in Washington.
The mayor of the federal capital, Muriel Bauser, says today that it is becoming mandatory again to use it indoors until the end of January. Federal staff will have to be vaccinated with the third dose to get to work. “I think we are all tired. “I was tired too, but we have to respond to what is happening in our city and in the nation,” he explained to reporters.
In New York, cases rose by 60% in the week ended Sunday. Record numbers were recorded for three consecutive days from the beginning of the pandemic. “This is an indication of what will soon happen in the rest of the country and what to expect – given that in New York the vaccination rate is very high – the cities and the highest with a low vaccination rate,” said George Benjamin, chief executive. director of the American Public Health Association.
Many Broadway theaters have postponed the performances of actors and technicians ill. The popular production “Hamilton” canceled the performances until after Christmas.
Infections are increasing among 61% of the fully vaccinated citizens of the country, even to the 30% who have taken the booster dose.
Omicron appears to cause milder symptoms in vaccinated people, and experts are optimistic that this wave may not cause an increase in hospitalizations and deaths as before. New York Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Choxy noted today that although the incidence is rising rapidly, hospitalizations have not increased at the same rate, which has resulted in vaccinations and boosting doses. However, he asked for more to be built in order to build a “breakwater” for this variant.
Because of Omicron, Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, has required all students and staff to take the booster dose in anticipation of the summer semester.
Earlier in the day, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan was found to be positive for Covid-19. Senators Corey Booker and Elizabeth Warren are also positive. All three had been vaccinated with the booster dose.
Nationwide, the number of cases increased by 9% last week but by 57% since the beginning of December, according to a Reuters count. Hospitalizations have increased by 26% this month – in areas in the Midwest, hospitals are under pressure over the Delta variant.
Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ