Although political and business leaders were able to resist any further lockdown in response to the increase of COVID-19 cases, they may be unable keep up the pace of U.S. economies.
Biden unveiled Sunday his plan to counter the surge in cases. This includes free booster shots for adults, guidance on travel protocol, mask mandates and more extensive vaccination outreach.
President Obama stated, “These actions will keep our economy growing while keeping Americans safe from severe COVID-19,”
The plan is unlikely to be implemented as many businesses are being forced to go into lockdown due the Omicron variant, which causes a shortage in staff. Eric Adams, the Mayor of New York City promised to maintain schools open even though some teachers are being required to work remotely due to a lack of positive-testing teachers. Wall St. was hit hard by big Wall Street banks such as Goldman Sachs, which ordered employees to stay at home during the first two weeks in January. The NYPD saw more than 21% call in sick, the highest number in all of the pandemic.
New winter infections and an outbreak with Washington Football Team forced four Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C. to temporarily close. Starbucks refuses to close its shops across the country and requires all employees to be vaccinated.
On average, the U.S. has seen 413,304 and 1,350 cases of pandemics in the seven-day period. This is the most severe pandemic.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Monday said that 51,000 positive cases were reported. However, Hochul said the state’s number of positive cases is likely to rise due to the late reporting weekend. Her comments also included that hospitalizations continue to increase.
She warned that these numbers could be even higher.
The state’s hospitals have seen an average seven-day increase of 37,300 admissions. Cases are at their highest point of 335,000, compared to a seven day average.
California had nearly 10,000 COVID-19 cases, while Texas and Massachusetts both saw more than 2000 cases per day. Florida’s COVID-19 case numbers have risen by 9488% in the past 14 days. On Saturday, 56,865 new cases were reported. On Saturday, there were more than 75,000.00 new COVID-19 cases reported.
Eric Adams of New York was elected Mayor on the third day. He pledged that the school system would remain open, even though there were many teachers calling in sick.
“I’m aware there are staff questions. While I understand there may be questions about testing, the staff will make those queries into an exclamation. He said it outside Concourse Village Elementary, Bronx.
He told MSNBC’s Morning Joe earlier that he would deploy resources for schools facing teacher shortages.
It’s time for Covid to be lived with and systems built around Covid should continue until the city disappears. He said that the city must continue to function until then.
When working parents have to leave the house to care for their children, school closures can threaten to cripple local economies. Because of staff shortages in Manhattan, the Xavier High School at Chelsea moved to remote classes from Wednesday until Wednesday.
Kim Smith sent an email to parents saying that she knows of many individuals who were negatively affected by the COVID-19 viral infection. “Unfortunately, many members of our teaching staff are in isolation at the moment and cannot return to this building.
Adams was in his third day of office and vowed that the school system would remain open, even if there were many teachers who had to be called out sick. “I understand there are questions regarding staff. Yes, there may be questions about testing. But we will make them into exclamation points. He said it outside Concourse Village Elementary, Bronx.
Parents who work struggle to find childcare when their children are absent from school. After the New Year festivities, Bronx Elementary School children return to school Monday.
According to the New York City Police Department, more than half of their workforce was sickened on New Years Eve. This is a figure that exceeds 21 percent. Also, the infection rate was high at the emergency medical service, which runs New York’s ambulance corps.
The city’s ambulance service has also been affected by sicknesses.
Vincent Variale, President of Uniformed EMS Officers Union FDNY, stated that major illness can be exacerbated by being grossly understaffed. Vincent Variale spoke to FOX 5 News.
Adams last week stated in his six point plan to fight the spread of the disease that he would maintain vaccination mandates for both the public and private sectors. He also suggested that booster shots be required.
Monday’s Food and Drug Administration authorization of booster shots was granted to all children over 12 years and those aged 5 to 11, who have immunocompromised, by the Food and Drug Administration.
Coronavirus restriction has caused many business people to struggle. Many vowed they’d get back on the job in 2022. Wall Street banks ordered their staff to return by January.
Starbucks has announced that employees will be required to have their vaccinations up to date by Tuesday, February 9, or to submit to weekly testing. Bloomberg News reports that the coffee company will require workers to declare their current vaccination status by January 10.
Goldman Sachs, an American bank that specializes in investment banking, has reversed their bullish back–to-the-office strategy to deal with the new infections.
‘As we continue to monitor the trajectory of this spike, we now encourage those who can work effectively from home to do so,’ the corporation said Sunday in a memo to employees.
Last week, the bank informed workers that booster shots were required by February 1, in order to get back into the office.
JPMorgan offered its employees the opportunity to work from home up until February due to the spike last week. Citigroup and Jeffries Financial Group as well as Bank of America urged employees to return home during the initial weeks of 2011.
On Monday, more Broadway closings were announced.
Bloomberg News reported that Mrs. Doubtfire’s musical production will cease temporarily for nine weeks between January 10 and March 14, affecting the jobs of 115 workers.
Rapid spread of this new strain has impacted the hospitality and live entertainment industries the most.
The spike caused Franklin’s Barbecue in Austin to close down its famed Austin roasted meat restaurant.
Bars and restaurants in Louisville, Kentucky are preparing for another difficult winter season.
‘There is no way to guess what is going to happen,’ Drew Johnson, Falls City Brewing Operations Manager, told WDRB News. “The best thing that we can accomplish is to be flexible and provide the best possible environment for all.
Omicron is still a highly contagious strain that has been affecting the airline industry.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul indicated that she believes the current spike will mirror the trend last year in winter infection rates that would taper off over the next few months.
According to Wall Street Journal, thousands of air carriers cancelled flights on the New Year’s Eve weekend. This was after a week that saw more than 1000 takeoffs cut daily because of crew shortages caused by COVID illnesses. A shortage in staff and the impact of powerful snow storms on travel caused nearly 2000 flights to be cancelled Monday.
Robert Hayes, a JetBlue executive based in New York said it was a perfect storm for demand and outbreak.
‘This is really the first time we have a…very transmissive phase, variant of Covid at the same time that we’re in a peak travel period,’ Mr. Hayes told the Journal.
The airlines demanded that federal officials reduce the period of isolation after an infection to just five days, and the Federal Health Service obliged.
Flight attendants’ union questioned this decision, claiming that government officials were prioritizing profits over employee health.
The effect of the hyphenated isolation time on the length of the separation period is not yet clear.
Hayes stated that he was still losing people more often than he’s getting back. Many of our crew members have taken on more shifts and are taking up new responsibilities.
Other complications came along with the shortening of quarantine. White House health advisor Anthony Fauci was criticized for suggesting that he could flip-flop on how people can leave quarantine. Initial plans called for those with symptoms lasting 24 hours to be released from isolation within five days. Fauci said that infected people would need to be tested negative to return to their normal lives.
He stated that there has been concern over why people are not asked to be tested within the five-day time frame. That is an issue that’s currently being considered.
On Twitter, there was a lot of backlash against the proposal.
“So they changed the Protocols due to facted-based science and research, but now want a negative test as a result of pressure? “Wow,” wrote Jerry Watkinds, a Twitter user.
Some parts of the country also feel the Omicron wave’s spikes.
Seeing the infection wave growing from November, some companies made arrangements.
Toyota plants are located in 48,000-person U.S. and have added staff to help prevent disruptions, the Journal reports.
More than 55,000,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported in the United States since 2020. Omicron has 29,384 confirmed infections. Since the outbreak, the virus has claimed the lives of 826,065 Americans.
The virus is more likely to be spread during winter because of the increased number of people who gather inside.
Canada has shown less opposition to the reintroduction of mandates. Doug Ford, Ontario’s Premier, announced that he will shut down restaurants again and move schools to online education.
Omicron, which can be more infective than any other strains of the virus, was initially discovered in South Africa. This caused a spike in illness, but it has been slowing down in recent weeks.
