Airlines canceled more than 800 flights and delayed more than 1,600 more early Monday amid a personnel crisis caused by the nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the omicron variant.
Yet the seemingly endless wave of coronavirus waves apparently did little to curb American enthusiasm for holiday shopping: At least one metric shows that sales since November 1 had risen 8.5% over the previous year, the highest annual profit in 17 years.
And Americans wanted to travel, but airlines struggled to keep up. More than 1,500 flights in, in or out of the US were canceled on Sunday and more than 6,000 were delayed, the tracking website Reported flight reported. Several airlines said the scheduling problems were caused by COVID-19-related personnel issues.
JetBlue spokesperson Derek Dombrowski said the airline has seen an “increasing number” of sick calls due to the rapidly spreading omicron variant. The company entered the holiday season with the highest staffing levels since the start of the pandemic, he said. He warned that additional cancellations and delays “remain a possibility.”
The omicron variant is proving to be much more contagious than the delta variant; omicron now accounts for more than 70% of new cases in the US, according to the CDC.
FLIGHT CANCELED? What do airlines owe you when flights are canceled or delayed?
Also in the news:
► Three members of the K-pop group BTS have tested positive for the coronavirusaccording to Big Hit Music, the group’s managing company.
► France has recorded more than 100,000 virus infections in a single day for the first time in the pandemic, and COVID-19 hospitalizations have doubled in the last month.
📈Today’s numbers: The United States has recorded more than 52 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 816,000 deaths. according to data from Johns Hopkins University. World totals: more than 279.9 million cases and 5.4 million deaths. More than 204 million Americans (61.7%) are fully vaccinated, According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
📘 What we are reading: In some US counties, only half of the increase in deaths during the pandemic has been attributed to COVID-19. Researchers say it points to a massive recount.
Keep updating this page for the latest news. They want more? Sign up for USA TODAY’s free Coronavirus Watch newsletter to receive updates directly to your inbox and join our facebook group.
Fauci: Stay away from the big New Years celebrations
People infected or exposed to COVID-19 could soon face a shorter period of isolation, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Monday on CNN. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guide for infected healthcare workers, saying those who show no symptoms or have mild symptoms can return to work after seven days if they test negative. of infection. Previously, a period of 10 days was required.
“The idea of reducing the quarantine period … is something that, I would say, is under serious consideration,” Fauci said Monday.
He also said that people should avoid big New Years celebrations.
“When you talk about a New Year’s Eve party, in which there are 30, 40, 50 people celebrating, the status of the vaccination is not known; I highly recommend that you stay away from that this year, ”Fauci said. There will be other years to do that, but not this year. “
COVID testing becomes more popular in child care settings
Large-scale periodic testing is still rare in the child care world, but the idea is gaining traction as omicron makes its way into communities. Families struggle to keep their children in classrooms, which at the early learning level often remain open during winter break. The advantage of regular testing extends well beyond classrooms and teachers, experts say. Read more here.
“Every time a classroom of 12 children has to close due to an outbreak, at least 12 parents are unable to go to work,” said Sarah Muncey, co-president and chief innovation officer for Neighborhood Villages, an advocacy organization for the early education reform. If we “have multi-pronged testing strategies … we can survive this winter and keep child care and therefore the open economy.”
– Alia wong
Overcrowded hospitals accused of indirect COVID victims
A retired Iowa school superintendent died in late November, nearly a month after he was diagnosed with sepsis, and his family believes COVID-19 is indirectly to blame. They say Dale Weeks could have survived had he been immediately admitted to a large medical facility, where he could have received advanced testing and immediate surgery. But he stayed 15 days in Newton’s relatively small hospital because the largest facility in Iowa said they couldn’t save him a bed, his family says. Iowa’s understaffed hospitals have been crammed for months with patients, including people seriously ill from COVID-19.
“It’s outrageous that people who aren’t vaccinated are obstructing it,” said Jenifer Owenson of Des Moines, who is one of Weeks’ four children.
– Tony Leys, Des Moines Registry
New York City Requires Vaccines for Private Sector Businesses
Private employers operating in New York City must require COVID-19 vaccinations for their workers beginning Monday under a broad mandate aimed at curbing an increase in the virus. The order is estimated to affect 184,000 businesses, and those that fail to comply could face fines from $ 1,000. But Mayor Bill de Blasio has said imposing sanctions would be the last resort. Unvaccinated workers do not need to be fired, but must be kept out of the workplace.
Employers must verify and keep a record of each worker’s proof of vaccination. Workers who have only received one injection should receive a second within 45 days. Businesses must post a sign stating that they are complying with the rule “in a conspicuous place”, as mandated by the city.
Israel begins a study on the impact of the fourth dose of vaccine
Israel has begun trials of a fourth dose of the coronavirus vaccine with 150 medical staff who received a booster dose in August and received a fourth injection of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine. Personnel who received the additional dose were examined and found to have low levels of antibodies.
The trial came as Israeli officials considered implementing a second tranche of booster injections for their population. Israel, like much of the world, is grappling with rising omicron-variant infections. More than 4.2 million of Israel’s 9.3 million people have received a third dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine.
“This study is expected to shed light on the additional benefit of giving a fourth dose and lead us to understand if and to whom a fourth dose is worth giving,” said Dr. Gili Regev-Yochay, Director of Infectious Disease Epidemiology. Unit at Sheba Medical Center
Powered by omicron, new infections increase 47% in 1 week
Even with the testing breaks over the Christmas holidays, the United States still reported dramatically worse COVID-19 numbers on Sunday.
In the past 17 days alone, the country has reported more new coronavirus cases than in all of November, a USA TODAY analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University shows. In the week ending Sunday, the country reported 1.39 million cases, nearly 200,000 a day.
That number is up 47% from the previous week and 65% more than two weeks earlier. Christmas interruptions and limited access to evidence mean the true figure is likely worse.
New case registries were established in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Puerto Rico.
– Mike Stucka, USA TODAY
Some states report jumps in hospitalizations
The latest wave of COVID-19 is hitting hospitals in some parts of the country, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services reported Sunday. Washington, DC, reported 77% more COVID-19 patients in hospital beds and 42% more in intensive care beds than a week earlier. Florida hospital admissions are up 64%. Hawaii is up 44%.
And in Louisiana, COVID-19 hospitalizations doubled in the last week. The Louisiana Department of Health said 449 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Sunday. That’s the highest since mid-October, which at the time was the worst increase in the state. Statewide, 80% of people hospitalized with COVID-19 are not fully vaccinated, the health department reported.
But the wave is moving unevenly across the country. Nearly half of the states report lower COVID-19 admissions and fewer people in ICU beds.
COVID-19 continues to spread on cruise ships
COVID-19 cases are keeps showing up on cruise ships. Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International and MSC Cruises are among the companies dealing with clusters of cases on board, pushing for itinerary and protocol changes to mitigate the spread.
The CDC has been working with global public health experts and industry partners to learn about omicron, spokesman Dave Daigle told USA TODAY last week. “We are still learning how easily it spreads, the severity of the disease it causes, and how well available vaccines and drugs work,” he said.
The likelihood of contracting the coronavirus on a cruise ship is “high because the virus spreads easily between people indoors on board ships,” Daigle said.
MSC Seashore, which was scheduled to disembark passengers on Thursday, sailed with 28 passengers who tested positive for COVID-19. The CDC is investigating Royal Caribbean Odyssey of the Seas ship while sailing with more than 50 cases of coronavirus on board.
– Morgan Hines, USA TODAY
COVID test positive? This is what you should do.
Testing positive for COVID-19 starts a confusing, disturbing, and sometimes terrifying process that millions of Americans will likely go through in the next week.
First, you need to isolate. That’s a more intense version of quarantine – it means cutting off contact with other people as much as possible to reduce the chance of infecting them. This also means giving up travel, not going to work, and even limiting contact with people in your own home who are not infected.
The CDC says isolation is a necessary step, whether you are vaccinated or not, and if you have symptoms or feel fine.
Everyone who tests positive for COVID-19 should monitor their symptoms. And people who are not vaccinated or who are at high risk for serious illness should be very vigilant for symptoms that may require emergency care. Call your doctor for early treatment options.
How long should you isolate? How long will I be contagious? What if you have close contact with someone who tested positive? Here’s what to know about omicron and COVID this holiday season.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism