What you should know
- The so-called “stealth” Ómicron sub-variant, BA.2, which is behind the latest surge in COVID-19 cases in the New York area.
- BA.2 now accounts for 52% of the virus circulating in the region, establishing dominance a week after accounting for 39% of cases in the CDC’s previous update, recent information released by the federal agency shows.
- By comparison, BA.2 is responsible for about 35% of new infections nationally, up from a quarter last week.
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NEW YORK — The so-called “stealth” Omicron subvariant, BA.2, which is behind the latest surge in COVID-19 cases in the New York area, and now accounts for 52% of the virus circulating in the region, establishing dominance in a week after owning 39% of cases in the CDC’s previous update, recent data released by the federal agency shows.
By comparison, BA.2 is responsible for about 35% of new infections nationally, up from a quarter last week.
In New York state, specifically, data from the Wadsworth Center shows that Omicron has accounted for 99.5% of all positive state samples tested there since January, while the BA.2 variant now accounts for 42% of that, the report said. Monday one of the lab scientists.
BA.2 is expected to overtake the original Omicron strain as the most prevalent in the United States in a fairly short time, and while there is no evidence at this time to indicate that it is more resistant to the vaccine or linked to more serious, the World Health Organization has said it is “inherently more transmissible” than the previous strain. Still, officials stress they are not in “alarmist” mode.
Why not? Context is everything, as Governor Kathy Hochul said earlier this week.
The seven-day average of new cases per 100,000 New York residents increased 7.5% in the last two weeks. While that may seem like a notable increase, the raw numbers aren’t that far off, Hochul said. It is the difference between 9.3 new cases of COVID per 100,000 inhabitants and 10.0 new continuous cases per 100,000.
The story is similar in New York City. The weekly moving average of cases is up 13% from the moving average of the previous four weeks, as of Wednesday morning, but the raw difference is not even 100 cases and the total daily average of cases is less than 750. At the end of January, it was well over 10,000.
A few months ago, the state was seeing 400 new cases per 100,000 people, and the city was experiencing unprecedented viral spread associated with omicron.
And while the statewide mobile positivity rate is the highest since late February, it’s still just under 2%. The moving average for New York City is 1.7%.
Most importantly, hospitalizations for COVID remain markedly low. On Tuesday, Hochul reported 905 hospitalizations statewide, continuing a streak of under 1,000 total admissions not seen since the summer. Deaths are stable or decreasing.
The rise in COVID-19 infections associated with the so-called “stealth” Omicron BA.2 subvariant is fueling new mistrust about the state of the pandemic in New York City and the United States, just as life as we know it now it is starting to return to normal. Rafael Pujols reports.
And while BA.2 may be causing a more severe rise in cases in other parts of the world, much of that is likely associated with lower vaccination rates, officials say.
New York City is on the same trend line, with a 35% lower moving average of hospitalizations and a 45% lower moving average of deaths. Both are lagging indicators, so you wouldn’t see an increase until after a noticeable increase in cases, but at this point, both of the most vital metrics continue to decline steadily.
The governor has said she understands New Yorkers’ anxiety, as has New York City’s mayor and its new health commissioner, and all agree the reopening process needs to keep moving forward as they monitor the numbers.
Significant progress in that regard has been made in the past month and is expected to continue, with New York City Mayor Eric Adams announcing a day ago that the city’s mask mandate for children ages 2-4 it would be lifted in schools and nurseries on April 4 if necessary. Viral rates remain low, even amid the latest spike in cases.
New York City is on the same trend line, with a 35% lower moving average of hospitalizations and a 45% lower moving average of deaths. Both are lagging indicators, so you wouldn’t see an increase until after a noticeable increase in cases, but at this point, both vital metrics continue to decline steadily.
What’s known as BA.2, a subvariant of Omicron, now accounts for nearly a quarter of new COVID infections nationwide.
The governor has said she understands New Yorkers’ anxiety, as has New York City’s mayor and its new health commissioner, and all agree the reopening process needs to keep moving forward as they monitor the numbers.
Significant progress in that regard has been made in the past month and is expected to continue, with New York City Mayor Eric Adams announcing a day ago that the city’s mask mandate for children ages 2 to 4 years would rise in schools and nurseries on April 4 if necessary. Viral rates remain low, even amid the latest spike in cases.
The city wants to allow two incubation periods to assess any potential surge associated with the unmasking of vaccine-eligible children in schools earlier this month. So far, there has been no significant increase associated with that change and the city’s community COVID alert level remains low. It doesn’t get any lower.
Asked Tuesday if current trends may mean the nation’s strictest vaccine mandate for the city’s private sector could also be lifted soon, Adams says he’s taking a tiered approach and isn’t prepared to reassess. that measure yet.
“We’re going to do it layer by layer and each layer that we remove we’re going to do an analysis, ‘Are we okay?’ and we have to turn and change and come back here in a week and say we’re going to do something different, we’re going to do that,” Adams said.
“When we feel the time is right to consider that, if we do, because the work environment is an important environment, we will make that determination,” he added. “We are not there yet.”
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