It feels like spring 2020 in NYC again. College final exams are online, Broadway shows are canceled, and lines for Covid tests are long.
The holiday cheer was ruined by Omicron, the latest variant of the coronaviruses.
There were only 12 confirmed Omicron cases in New York state as of December 6, with seven in the NYC metro area. State officials acknowledged that it was the beginning of the community spread. Kathy Hochul said that the new cases weren't cause for alarm.
Many New Yorkers have had their phones blow up with text messages from their friends saying they've been exposed to Covid. Positivity rates have doubled in the past three days, with the highest one-day total since January 14.
"We've never seen this before in NYC," Dr. Jay Varma, an epidemiologist and former senior public health adviser to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, said.
December 16, 2021.
At a recent press event, the mayor called the variant's rapid spread "an urgent situation" and said it was clear that it spreads fast.
NYC's current transmission rates present an "alarming trend" of rising cases, according to the Health Commissioner.
It all comes on the heels of an annual event in which hundreds of New Yorkers dressed in red suits and elf hats storm the streets of Manhattan: SantaCon.
SantaCon had a surge.
SantaCon was canceled last year due to the swine flu, but returned on December 11.
The pub crawl is a convention that happens once a year to spread absurdist joy, according to its website.
One New Yorker told CBS that she thought it was a bad idea to have proof of vaccine in order to participate in the event.
Another person didn't share the same concerns. We're going to have fun. Some people might get sick, but we got vaccine.
SantaCon isn't solely to blame for the Omicron wave. NYC nightlife has been back to normal for quite some time after companies held in-person holiday parties. Health restrictions, like mask mandates, have been ignored more and more.
It was all part of the "new normal" provided by a city that was the first to implement a vaccine requirement and now boasts a vaccination rate of 77%.
Studies show that the initial two shots of Pfizer and Moderna aren't as effective at preventing infections as they should be. Less than 20% of New Yorkers received booster shots over the weekend.
According to a recent Morgan Stanley note by Matthew Harrison, Omicron is becoming the global strain at twice the rate of Delta. Omicron will peak in 10 to 12 weeks, with daily cases two to three times the Delta wave.
It may take weeks for the economy to realize Omicron's impact, but restaurant reservations and tourism are already declining. A number of companies have had to rethink their plans to return to the office because of the spike in cases.
New York state reported the most new cases in a single day.
