New cases of the Omicron variant in NYC bring the total confirmed in the state to eight – Telemundo New York (47)

What you should know

• The governors of the tri-state area have confirmed nine cases of the Omicron variant as of Saturday morning: eight in New York and one in New Jersey.
• So far there is no data from the US to suggest that the new variant, which was first identified in South Africa, is more lethal or has a higher risk of reinfection than previous strains. However, experts say it appears to be more transmittable.
• A non-peer-reviewed, pre-print study by a team of South African researchers suggests that Ómicron appears to have a “substantial ability” to evade natural immunity acquired from previous COVID-19 infections.

—

Three new cases of the Omicron variant were confirmed in New York City, bringing the number of cases in the Big Apple to seven. In total, New York state had eight cases as of Saturday, one of them on Long Island and the others in the city.

The three additional cases announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul Saturday morning join the first New Jersey case confirmed a day earlier, bringing the total in the tri-state area to nine. As of Saturday, Connecticut has not announced any confirmed cases of the new variant.

During Hochul’s weekend announcement, the governor said the latest batch of confirmed cases “appears to be unrelated,” but no additional details were provided on the vaccination status of those individuals and recent travel activity.

“The Omicron variant is here and as anticipated, we are seeing the beginning of the community spread. We continue to work closely with our partners at the national, state and local levels. At this time, we do not know how quickly this will take place. will spread Omicron or how severe its symptoms will be, “said state Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett.

New Jersey Health officials confirmed the state’s first case of the Omicron variant Friday night in a fully vaccinated traveler, Governor Phil Murphy announced.

The Garden State would have been the 10th state in the country to detect the new variant, and it came after the first five cases in the tri-state area detected in New York City and Long Island. The governors of all three states have said it was only a matter of time before the new strain of the virus was detected in their states.

The woman who tested positive in New Jersey, Murphy said, is a fully vaccinated Georgia woman who recently traveled to South Africa. Officials from his home state said he returned to Georgia for two days before heading north to New Jersey, where he finally tested positive for Omicron. Contact tracing is underway in every state as she isolates herself after testing positive on Nov. 28.

“We are still learning about the Omicron variant, but we have tools to stop the spread of the virus, the most important of which is to get vaccinated and receive a booster dose. The public should continue to wear masks, get tested for symptoms, exercise physical distancing, avoid crowded events, stay home when sick and wash their hands frequently, “said State Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli .

The first cases of that newer variant in the tri-state area, which was first identified in South Africa late last month, were confirmed Thursday by Hochul and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in an announcement. Set made just hours after news broke that a vaccinated Minnesota man, who attended the two-day Anime NYC convention at the Javits Center a few weeks ago, tested positive for COVID and tests showed he was Omicron.

Health officials are still working to learn more about the first five cases including a 67-year-old woman on Long Island who had recently traveled to South Africa, residents of Brooklyn and Queens, and another possibly related New York City case. with travel. At least one person had received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, but officials had no details on the vaccination status of the other four cases.

There are undoubtedly more local cases of Ómicron that have yet to be detected. New York State only sequences about 3.5% of all COVID-positive samples to isolate variants. The renowned Wadsworth Center Laboratory has the capacity to analyze up to 100 samples per day and many other laboratories, including those in the city, are also expanding genetic sequencing efforts. But with New York’s daily cases topping 11,000 a day ago for the first time since late January, the sequencing sample is quite small.

Hochul and other officials urge the public not to overreact to this latest variant, and the governor says it will not create a “panic” by closing schools or the economy again. We simply don’t have enough information about Omicron’s potential threats or lack thereof, the Democrat said, but she assured New Yorkers that she has prepared for each scenario and will respond appropriately to emerging data.

“We are not going to have closures, we do not change our protocols. We continue where we are, but making sure to work together and encourage people to get tested, get tested frequently, get vaccinated and that, again, is our best defense,” he said Hochul at his briefing with the mayor on Thursday.

The federal government has shared similar sentiments in recent days, and New York is working closely with the CDC as it monitors the spread of Omicron. De Blasio has said that people should assume that community transmission is on the right track.

He and Hochul, along with the new head of state health, urge that they continue to use the masks and improve the safety protocol for all people regardless of vaccination status, as well as vaccinations and boosters for anyone who is not yet fully protected against COVID-19.

So far, preliminary evidence suggests that the Omicron variant is at least more transmissible than previous strains, although it is unclear whether it is more transmissible than the delta. There is no data yet from the US to indicate that it causes more serious disease and death or is at increased risk of progression, although the World Health Organization has said it believes that omicron has an increased risk of reinfection. .

A non-peer-reviewed, pre-print study by a team of South African researchers suggests that Ómicron appears to have a “substantial ability” to evade natural immunity acquired from previous COVID-19 infections, although it did acknowledge that vaccination acquired by Vaccination remains open question in regards to the new variant.

The appearance of Ómicron comes at a time when COVID hospitalizations, new deaths and new cases are increasing markedly in New York and nationally. On Thursday, Hochul reported more than 11,000 new COVID cases in New York, the highest single-day total since late January, and a total of 3,093 hospitalizations.

That number of hospitalizations jumped 62% in the past month alone, and daily deaths, 49 of which were reported Thursday, are at their highest in about half a year.

Experts say that the delta variant, which still accounts for 98% of all positive cases in tests in New York City, is likely the main culprit for the latest spikes.

Starting Friday, any New York hospital with a bed capacity greater than 90% could have to close elective surgeries if the Hochul administration says it is necessary.

The plan is part of the state of emergency that Hochul issued before Ómicron’s arrival to shore up resources and accelerate federal aid in case the COVID outlook worsens.

Hochul has said he is leaving all options on the table as to next steps and warned last month that a continued rise in COVID-19 rates could mean New Yorkers will once again face more virus protocols in high-risk communities. . But he also said that he did not believe a mask mandate would do much due to non-compliance.

“That’s one option, but there is a reality: the people who will not be vaccinated are probably the same people who will not wear a mask either,” Hochul said.

New York City issued an updated mask advisory this week recommending that everyone, including those who are fully vaccinated, wear face covers indoors.

– .