Corona pandemic
Lack of staff, dense schools: the wave of omicrones plunges the USA into chaos
New York, USA: People queue to get tested for the coronavirus. Every third test is now positive here.
A look at the USA shows what Europe could expect in view of the new coronavirus wave: record incidences, a paralyzed economy and a new discussion about open schools.
While the corona numbers are just slowly starting to rise in this country, the wave in the United States is already in full swing. On Monday, the country reported more than a million new infections within 24 hours for the first time – breaking a new global record. On Sunday, chief virologist Anthony Fauci warned of an “almost vertical” contagion curve. According to data from Johns Hopkins University the number of infections doubled within just one week thanks to the highly infectious Omikron variant.
But Omikron not only ensures record incidences, it is also increasingly turning other areas of public life upside down. For example, thousands of flights had to be canceled due to the high number of infected or quarantined employees. Critical public service institutions, such as hospitals, the police and fire brigade, are also currently affected by acute staff shortages.
Coronavirus epicenter New York
The situation has worsened in New York, which has once again become the epicenter of the pandemic. Every third corona test is now positive. Eric Adams, the new mayor of the city, thinks another lockdown is just as dangerous as the virus itself. “We spent $ 11 trillion on Covid and we don’t have another $ 11 trillion,” Adams told the broadcaster ABC. “So we can’t base our lives on the new variant. We have to learn to adapt.”
Public life and the infrastructure in New York are paralyzed by the virus alone, even without strict corona restrictions. Just in time for the turn of the year, every third paramedic and every sixth firefighter called in sick. Many restaurants have been closed since Christmas – until today the metro only runs irregularly on some routes. According to a survey by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, one in five companies had to close temporarily due to staff shortages. This wave does not avoid Broadway either: Several shows had to be canceled after positive tests by actors.
Even if initial studies suggest that Omikron causes a milder course, the variant has spread so quickly that hospitals are still coming under increasing pressure. For the first time in four months, the number of hospital admissions in the US has exceeded 100,000 – in New York alone, hospital admissions have quintupled since November.
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School closings polarize the United States
At the same time, many health experts warn against playing down the Omikron danger for children, as the children’s wards in the clinics are now also filling up. “We’ve just done a bad job vaccinating our children across the country,” Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine, told the broadcaster CNN. “Even if there is a lot of talk about the omicron variant, a less serious disease when you add all the factors together … we have a very serious situation in this country, especially for children.”
Just like in New York, the overriding question in the rest of the country is: School closings – yes or no?
Several large cities such as Detroit, Los Angeles, Newark, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Atlanta have already taken the step in view of the skyrocketing number of infections. Some extended the winter holidays, others switched straight back to online lessons. For headlines sparked a dispute between the teachers’ union and the city of Chicago, where classes in all state schools were canceled on Wednesday after teachers threatened to stay home to enforce homeschooling.
In contrast, states like New York and Florida want to keep schools open at all costs. “We are very happy about the opening of our schools”, emphasized New York City Mayor Adams in front of an elementary school in the Bronx. “We want to be very clear: the safest place for our children is a school building”. Apparently around a third of New York parents who did not send their children back to the classroom on the first day after the vacation saw it differently.
Biden again promotes vaccination
US President Joe Biden stood in front of the cameras again on Tuesday and appealed to his compatriots to get vaccinated. There is enough vaccine for everyone in the United States, and every American can use it to protect themselves from serious disease. “You can control how big the impact Omikrons will have on your health,” Biden told the people. Getting vaccinated is also important to protect children who are too young to be vaccinated. So far, however, only 62 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated.
Also the new guidelines of the CDC health authority should contribute to easing the situation. The agency had shortened the recommended isolation period for infected vaccinated people from ten to five days last week – provided the infected people have no symptoms. These can now return to work more quickly, where they are so urgently needed. The Biden government also announced that it would support the country’s hospitals with 1,000 medical workers from the military.
In addition to the low vaccination rate, however, it is primarily the lack of testing options that worries many. All over the country there are currently long queues in front of the test centers, where people sometimes queue for hours. According to experts, it is essential to test as much as possible, especially in the fight against the highly contagious Omicron variant. But when it comes to that, the US is still terribly ill-equipped after almost two years of pandemic.
Sources: “NY Times“, CNN, “Guardian“, Johns Hopkins University, with DPA material