Gabriella Borter, Maria Caspani

NEW YORK (Reuters] – The weekend saw a surge in Coronavirus cases across the United States, including New York City. These numbers have tempered hopes of a less stressful holiday season for Americans and stressed the testing infrastructure.

New York’s COVID-19 case numbers rose by 60% over the week ending Sunday. The Omicron variant is rapidly spreading in northeastern America. New York set new records in terms of the number of cases that were reported within a single day, which is the highest total since the outbreak began. This was three days consecutively.

Omicron is fast becoming the dominant Omicron in America, prompting alarm bells from public health authorities who fear an explosion in infections following holiday parties. The new COVID-19 variant is in widespread circulation and the numbers of cases are increasing in the areas that have community transmission. This was confirmed by the World Health Organization on Saturday.

This variant is causing holiday spirit to drop among those who have been vaccinated. There has even been an increase in breakthrough infections among people who were given booster shots.

Omicron is causing milder symptoms in the vaccinated population. Experts remain positive that Omicron will not lead to similar surges in hospitalizations or deaths.

On Monday, Dr. Dave Chokshi of New York City’s Health Department stated that although new cases of COVID-19 have increased “profoundly”, hospitalizations haven’t increased at the same pace. He said that vaccinations and booster shots are important in preventing severe illnesses and encouraged more to be taken against it.

A Reuters tally shows that while national numbers rose 9% last week, they are now up 57% over December. The number of COVID-19-injured patients admitted to hospitals has increased by 26% in the past month. Some areas are already struggling due to this variant.

The Northeast sees more cases, but Midwest hospitals still have to deal with the Delta wave of patients this fall. According to Reuters, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan have the highest number of COVID patients in hospital per capita.

Larry Hogan, Maryland governor announced Monday that he had tested positive for COVID-19. U.S. U.S. Senators Cory Booker, and Elizabeth Warren also said the exact same thing on Sunday. They said that they’d been immunized and given a boost.

‘SUPPLY PROBLEM’

Over the weekend, there were lines for COVID-19 test in New York and Washington D.C. as families clamored to discover if their loved ones had contracted the disease before they celebrated the holidays.

According to Mayor Bill de Blasio, Monday’s daily New York City test rate was 130,000. This is more than twice the number reported three weeks ago. However, the demand continues to outpace available capacity.

De Blasio stated that “we’re seeing an issue with supply that must be solved”, and that the city is working closely with the White House, the private sector, and other organizations to increase access to testing.

On Monday, the COVID-19 vaccination mandate was to be in effect for city childcare workers. It affects approximately 102,000 people.

Governor Kathy Hochul said on Monday that 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. She advised those that do: “Just stay at home. Do not leave.” Do not go to work. Do not go to work.

Omicron’s presence is an important headwind to an economic recovery in New York, which is already behind the rest of America. This is especially true for employment.

Due to its large impact on tourism, leisure, hospitality and other industries, the pandemic caused a greater damage than it did for the nation as a whole. New York’s spring 2020 jobless rate was 20%, more than five percentage points higher than the U.S. standard.

(Graphic: https://graphics.reuters.com/CORONAVIRUS-USA/klvyknybkvg/chart_eikon.jpg)

A few improvements occurred after restaurants allowed indoor dining to resume with less restrictions. Some businesses such as Wall Street firms opened offices and commuters began moving into the dormant districts. Foreign tourists were able to visit New York City for the first-time in almost two years after international travel was resumed.

Despite this, the city’s labor market is still in decline. At 9%, the unemployment rate is higher than the national rate. The work force, which represents the potential pool of labor, has been falling every month since April.

Although city life is not as affected now, it has been possible for some businesses to close due to staff positives or over-awareness.

Henrietta Hudson, a New York City landmark LGBTQ bar and restaurant announced its closure for an extended holiday.

The bar posted on Instagram Sunday that they hoped to provide a New Years Eve experience for customers. However, we will need to wait to see what happens.