Dr. Anthony Fauci urged Americans not to invite unvaccinated persons to Christmas parties
The top US infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci has advised Americans not to invite unvaccinated persons to Christmas parties as the rapidly-growing COVID-19 Omicron variant is fueling a rise in national infections.
“We have a very serious problem right now. I’d say to anyone who is not vaccinated that they are deeply sorry. Fauci spoke to MSNBC Tuesday night in an interview.
Omicron is now responsible for 73% of all new US cases. This warning pushes Europe closer to new lockdowns. Wales was the first to announce new harsh restrictions that will be in place on Boxing Day. Boxing Day is a British holiday.
New York City, Texas, Georgia and Georgia are seeing significant increases in COVID case numbers. They have increased more than 100 percent over the past week in these states. Florida is now leading the nation in cases, up 371 per cent over the last two weeks.
CDC Director Rochelle Walsky, however, appeared to disagree with President Joe Biden. She claimed that the present surge in cases is normal after Biden stated on Tuesday that ‘the Omicron viruses spread faster than anyone thought’
Walensky stated that they expected it because of the rapid doubling of the virus in other countries. This is what Walensky said in an interview on Wednesday with The Today Show.
Walensky, when Walensky was asked about criticisms that the Biden Administration failed to obtain enough at-home testing kits in an era where Americans are still struggling to find them claimed that more resources had been devoted to surge capacity.
“This is a very fast process. Omicron was discovered just before Thanksgiving. “The administration is making a great effort in regards to testing but we know we still have much work to do,” she stated.
The US has seen a wave of disturbances caused by the flu epidemic. Holiday parties were cancelled and the NHL suspended games throughout Christmas. They also pulled out from the Winter Olympics. Fox also cancelled its New Year’s Eve broadcast from Times Square.
Many Americans continue to plan for Christmas. Over 12.5 Million Americans flew to Christmas since Thursday. That’s more than double the amount of last year, and is close to pre-pandemic levels.
Omicron, a purple variant of Covid is the predominant strain. It accounted for 73% last week. This strain has taken over the Delta (orange), which had been dominating since July
Brielle Peare (6 years old) uses a microphone and talks to Santa Claus. He is enclosed behind glass inside the Primark Boston store window.
Omicron continues to be a good option. A South African study suggests that the Omicron variant is associated with less severe illnesses than previous variants.
Although the evidence will be publicly published in the next days, it does not negate the danger from this variant. It is rapidly spreading and could cause serious complications for hospitals.
While COVID hospitalizations in New York City have increased quickly, increasing more than 100 per cent in one month, one hospital executive says that there is no shortage of capacity.
‘We’re doing very, very well. Everything is manageable. It’s not a crisis… right now on the hospital front, things are going well. This is very manageable,” said Michael Dowling CEO, Northwell Health. The company serves New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County.
Dowling claimed that the country could achieve herd immunity and avoid mass mortalities by the current surge.
“We’re in the middle of an epidemic… You’re going to see surges… If people don’t get that sick, and aren’t in the hospital, you’re creating herd immunity. From that perspective, it is not the worst thing on the planet.
Health authorities have reported that Omicron is the most common strain of coronavirus in America, responsible for 73.2 percent new cases during the week.
New York City and New Jersey are home to more than 90% of the new Omicron variant cases.
Logan Airport, Boston: On Tuesday night, passengers waited to be checked in at the check-in counter for flight tickets. The new Omicron strain could be the dominant strain in America during this holiday break, according to public health officials.
Omicron prevalence is lower in some regions, but the variant has spread quickly enough to be predominant across the nation within weeks.
America reported the first death confirmed from this variant Monday night when a Texas resident between the ages of 50-60 succumbed.
Walensky, however, insisted Wednesday on the need not to panic as she supported Biden’s reaction.
‘There are going to be breakthrough cases of Omicron … but they will be certainly milder if you’re vaccinated and boosted,’ she said.
Director of CDC said that the Federal Government would invest $3 billion in rapid home testing kits, which will be available for delivery by January.
Cases of this variant are generally milder than those from Delta or other strains. Although this is encouraging, Fauci cautions that rapid transmission could lead to the death of any less severe strain.
The idea of it spreading quickly even if it is not more severe is what we see from South African data. There is a lower ratio between hospitalizations and cases, as well as a shorter stay at the hospital. This could indicate that it may be less severe. “We hope this’s true, and we expect that it will become our experience as the situation evolves in America,” he stated.
“Even though it might be, the sheer number of infections and their efficiency in spreading may actually reduce the severity of the disease to the extent that significant illness can still occur. We cannot take this lightly.
Because of Manhattan’s COVID (Manhattan Office for Information and Development), very few tourists are seen Tuesday in Times Square during Christmas season.
We now know that the majority of U.S. cases are caused by the newly identified strain. Johns Hopkins University reports 253,954 cases of the new strain on Monday. This is the largest number of cases since Sept 7, the peak of Delta Wave, and the only time that the 250,000 daily mark has been eclipsed since January.
The country has been receiving an average of 148.384 new cases per day over the last week. This number is likely to grow if Monday’s unusually high total for cases becomes normal. Over the past week, new cases have increased more than 20%.
America has seen an increase in deaths, with the average death rate hovering around 1,300 per day. That is steady over the past week.
The number of Americans admitted to hospital for serious infections has increased by 5 percent compared with two weeks ago.
Also, confirmed Omicron cases increased 19 percent daily, reaching 1,781 on Tuesday morning. That’s up from 1,485 the previous Tuesday. However, these figures do not accurately reflect the number of Omicron cases in America. It is likely that hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of cases are being consolidated at the moment.
The U.S. trend is in the wrong direction, but things in the UK are stabilizing. It was the nation that saw the largest increase in variant-related cases, and London emerged as the global capital. Since last week, daily infections have been relatively stable. This is an encouraging sign that the variant has already started to burn out.
However, British health professionals are still worried about the worst. Some fear that daily case numbers will rise to 460,000 per day, from the current 91.743 cases per day. Neil Ferguson (original lockdown architect) is calling for lockdowns in certain areas to limit the spread.
The Welsh First Minister announced restrictions Wednesday that included curbs on large gatherings as well as two-meter social distancing in all public spaces and restrictions on restaurant operations.
While the Welsh Government doesn’t have rules for mixing private and public homes, they do provide more guidance that’strongly encourages’ residents to keep their household mix under control.
As the holiday season gets underway, America is experiencing a major crisis. The Christmas holiday is on Saturday and millions of Americans will travel across the nation to celebrate with their loved ones.
Fauci thinks holiday travel and other festivities are still safe, as long as one is properly vaccinated. He also recommends that people take precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.
He said, “If you’re vaccinated, particularly boosted and are planning to interact in an indoor setting with your family and relatives who are also vaccinated, boosted and/or boosted, it could be a good idea for you to feel at ease in that kind of social interaction.”