Dang it, COVID-19 variants. YOU'RE RUINING CHRISTMAS SEASON BECAUSE OMICORN VARIANT!
COVID 'Viral Blizzard' Will Soon Hit US, Health Experts Predict. The combination of Delta and Omicron COVID-19 variants will create conditions which may make a "viral blizzard" possible. Experts note the rise of COVID-19 hospitalizations in major cities, . as well as lines for COVID-19 testing that have been seen to stretch for miles as evidence of what may be ahead. We're really just about to experience a viral blizzard, Michael Osterholm, Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, via CNN. In the next three to eight weeks, we're going to see millions of Americans are going to be infected with this virus, .., Michael Osterholm, Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, via CNN. ...and that will be overlaid on top of Delta, and we're not yet sure exactly how that's going to work out, Michael Osterholm, Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, via CNN. Health experts say that the strain on the healthcare system is likely to worsen. What you have here right now is a potential perfect storm, Michael Osterholm, Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, via CNN. I've been very concerned about the fact that we could easily see a quarter or a third of our health care workers quickly becoming cases themselves, Michael Osterholm, Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, via CNN. President Joe Biden stated that the outlook for the unvaccinated was grim. For the unvaccinated, we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death, President Joe Biden, via CNN. But there's good news if you're vaccinated and you have your booster shot, you're protected from severe illness and death, President Joe Biden, via CNN. Biden reiterated the effectiveness of initial vaccines and booster shots. Vaccination rates have increased by nearly 22 percent from a month ago
Oh, no. I've bad feeling about this Winter now....
With COVID-19 cases once again soaring in New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy said the state could soon face new restrictions in response to a deadly pandemic that is once more growing.
“My fear is we’re going to be getting back to capacity limits at some point,” Murphy said during
an unrelated press event at Port Newark on Friday, where he warned “this thing is still with us and sadly, the numbers are still going up.”
Earlier on Friday, the state reported another 16 confirmed
COVID-19 deaths and
6,260 confirmed cases. It marked the first time New Jersey health officials marked back-to-back days of more than 6,000 confirmed positive tests in the 21 months since the pandemic began.
On Thursday, the state
reported another 6,271 positive tests, bringing the two-day total to 12,531. New Jersey had just six days total last winter with more than 6,000 cases — the highest recorded at 6,922 on Jan. 13.
RELATED: N.J. reports 6,260 COVID cases, 16 deaths — more than 6,000 positive tests on back-to-back days for 1st time
Those numbers come as the cases of the omicron variant of the virus have been spreading like wildfire worldwide. Experts say the evidence is that omicron is far more transmissible and more likely to evade some natural immunity and, to some extent, vaccine-induced immunity.
The first case of the omicron coronavirus variant in New Jersey was identified two weeks ago in a Georgia woman who traveled to the state in November. The woman, who had been fully vaccinated, had recently traveled to South Africa, officials said.
Within days, a second case was reported involving a Monmouth County man who attended Anime NYC at the Javits Center in Manhattan in November, according to the Department of Health. The man got sick on Nov. 24 but was not hospitalized as he experienced mild symptoms.
CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage
Murphy said common sense would suggest that omicron cases in New Jersey are at a higher level than the sequencing being performed on specimens by the New Jersey Department of Health laboratory would suggest. Still, the governor believed the new spike in cases now being seen are largely part of the same wave sparked by the delta variant that began two months ago.
He said people should be cautious as the holiday season approaches. Gatherings inside with those whose vaccination status cannot be confirmed should be cause for concern for anyone, he said.
“That’s a mask if not a double mask,” Murphy said. “Going to someone’s New Year’s party in some basement somewhere with a bunch of people you don’t know — that’s a flashing yellow if not red light. You have to be very careful.”
Asked whether mask mandates might return if the numbers continue to rise, Murphy said “everything is on the table.”
Among those options include the possible return of capacity limits — whether implemented by the state or individual locations, he said.
Still, Murphy noted there were defenses that weren’t available a year ago, with vaccines and now boosters in play.
“There’s no reason to panic. But there is plenty of reason to be deadly serious about this,” the governor said.
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