NEW YORK – Almost exactly a month after Mayor Bill de Blasio triumphantly announced that tens of thousands of fully vaccinated people could return to Times Square to celebrate New Year’s Eve in person this year, the state recorded its highest number of single-day cases of new COVID infections.
The previous record, set nearly a year ago on January 14, collapsed on Friday when Governor Kathy Hochul announced 21,027 positive cases detected statewide.
When asked in an interview with CNN about the New Year’s Eve party planned Thursday night, de Blasio said the party is scheduled for now, but that could change at some point if the data warrants it.
“We made the decision a few weeks ago when things were much better. But we said only vaccinated people,” said the Democrat. “Everybody has been told for weeks and weeks not to even show up in Times Square unless you’re vaccinated.”
“Now we are going to constantly reevaluate with new information. We are going to follow the data and the science,” he added. “Right now, it’s scheduled. You know, we’ll make a decision eventually, and we’ll get closer to what should finally happen.”
While that full vaccination requirement is what prompted de Blasio’s confidence to schedule the party to close in 2021, a growing number of people planning to go may wonder if it’s a good idea.
A day ago, the mayor’s top health advisor, Dr. Jay Varma, tweeted, “We’ve never seen this before at #NYC” regarding COVID positivity rates. The proportion of people who tested positive doubled in three days this week, and Varma said it was an indication that Ómicron evaded immunity in a way that no other variant had before.
But de Blasio was adamant about eliminating school closings as an option, saying “no, no, no” when asked if it was under consideration.
The city’s moving average of daily cases has risen nearly 57% from the moving averages of the previous four weeks, and COVID hospitalizations have risen nearly 31%. Delta is the variant believed to be driving the increase in the most severe cases, while Ómicron is believed to be behind the rise in infections. Both are called “variants of interest.”
The latter accounts for only 1% of COVID samples tested in New York City today, although its prevalence is likely to be much higher. Delta is still dominant (97%), but experts expect Omicron to overtake it as the dominant American strain in a matter of weeks.
The city does not report how many of the new cases are reinfections. They are still believed to be a very small fraction of new COVID cases and a tiny fraction of new hospitalizations, but both fractions have risen steadily since Ómicron’s appearance in November, state data shows.
The anecdotal evidence is there too. The reinfections have shaken the resurgence of New York City’s entertainment industry to its core, with the Rockettes becoming the latest victim on Friday.
A variety of Broadway shows, from “Hamilton” to “Moulin Rouge” to “Mrs. Doubtfire” and others, are canceling shows for the same reason. In some cases, cases are discovered so late and unexpectedly that audiences are in their seats when they learn that the show will not continue.
Although the first case of Omicron in the US was confirmed only 16 days ago, health officials believe it was in New York, which is detecting it at a rate four times higher than in the rest of the country, the CDC said. week.
About 75% of the first 40 confirmed Omicron cases in the US were breakthrough infections, said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.
Still, she and other leading health experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, say that the vast majority of those cases are mild and that existing vaccines remain overwhelmingly effective in preventing serious COVID-related illnesses and death. De Blasio agrees.
“If someone is vaccinated, especially if they have received that booster, it is much safer,” de Blasio said on CNN. “They can still have COVID. I could have COVID. You can have COVID. But we are going to survive. We will probably not end up in a hospital, which is not only good for you and me, it is good for the whole of society.”
“COVID has taught us a lesson. It changes all the time. So the reason you want to be more careful is because you don’t know what the next curve will be,” he added, and of Ómicron said: “This is a completely new animal and we have to be honest about the fact that it moves very fast and we have to move faster. “
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