In US, 38 states have Omicron cases; Covid positivity rate doubles in New York

Omicron, the ‘variant of concern’, is on its way to become the dominant strain of the coronavirus across the world, as feared by the health experts and world leaders.

Since its detection in South Africa three weeks ago, Omicron cases have already been found in 77 countries.

In the United States, which was the worst affected country by the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, the number has been increasing alarmingly.

The first case of Omicron was detected in the United States on December 1 after an individual travelled from South Africa to San Francisco in late November. The traveller was vaccinated.

Since then, the Omicron cases have been steadily increasing in the United States.

Where has Omicron been detected in the United States?

According to Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the highly transmissible variant has been reported in 38 states of the country. It now makes up three per cent of the reported cases across the United States.

In some states, like New York and New Jersey, there is a high presence of Omicron – in as many as 13 per cent of the total samples.

In New York, the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) positivity has doubled in three days, which the experts say is due to the Omicron variant. “It is clear that the Omicron variant is here in New York City in full force,” New York mayor Bill de Blasio said.

However, Delta continues to be the main variant circulating in the United States.

According to the CDC, 200 million Americans have been fully vaccinated, but only 56 million have received a booster shot.

President Joe Biden sounds alarm

Amid the unabated spread of the Omicron variant, US President Joe Biden on Thursday warned about a winter of “severe illness and death” for unvaccinated Americans.

“…I want to send a direct message to the American people: Due to the steps we’ve taken, Omicron has not yet spread as fast as it would’ve otherwise done and as is happening in Europe. But it’s here now, and it’s spreading, and it’s going to increase,” said Biden after meeting with members of his Covid-19 response team.

Biden empathised on the need to get booster shots in guarding against the virus amid the spread of a new variant.

The situation in Americas

Since the start of the pandemic, more than 98 million people in the Americas have developed Covid-19 and more than 2.3 million have died from the disease.

More than a third of all cases reported worldwide, and one in four deaths, have occurred in the region.

In the United States, the Covid-19 death toll surpassed the tragic number of 800,000 on Tuesday.