US Surgeon General: ‘The Next Few Weeks Will Be Tough’ As Omicron Surge Continues

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(CBS13/CNN) — Areas that were among the archetypal to get deed hard by the Omicron variant are starting to spot their Covid-19 numbers level disconnected oregon adjacent improve. But that’s not the lawsuit for overmuch of the country, US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said.

“There are parts of the state — New York, successful particular, and different parts of the Northeast — wherever we are starting to spot a plateau, and successful immoderate cases, an aboriginal diminution successful cases,” Murthy told CNN connected Sunday.

“The situation is that the full state is not moving astatine the aforesaid pace,” helium said. “The Omicron question started aboriginal successful different parts of the country, truthful we shouldn’t expect a nationalist highest successful the adjacent coming days. The adjacent fewer weeks volition beryllium tough.”

An mean of much than 750,000 caller Covid-19 infections were reported each time implicit the past week, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

That means Americans at work, schoolhouse and elsewhere face a heightened hazard of vulnerability that is unparalleled during the pandemic.

The fig of Americans dying each time from Covid-19 has accrued successful caller days, with 1,796 Covid-19 deaths reported Sunday, according to JHU data.

And 156,000 radical were hospitalized with Covid-19 arsenic of Sunday, according to data from the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The crush of Covid-19 patients means some hospitals are moving retired of space to dainty different patients successful intensive attraction units.

“I expect those numbers to get substantially higher,” Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, told Fox News connected Sunday.

“The occupation is we are moving retired of wellness attraction workforce, we don’t person the staffing. So that is going to beryllium a situation for galore weeks ahead.”

Trying to support schools unfastened with much safety

As the US battles the astir contagious strain of caller coronavirus yet, immoderate schoolhouse districts are struggling to support classrooms open, portion others person added much information measures to debar a instrumentality to distant learning.

Chicago Public Schools resumed in-person teaching past week aft pledging to summation Covid-19 investigating arsenic good arsenic supply higher-quality KN95 masks.

Health experts accidental Americans have more tools to assistance schoolhouse enactment unfastened present than astatine immoderate different constituent successful the pandemic.

One of those tools is look masks. In Virginia, astatine slightest 2 schoolhouse districts volition support requiring masks successful schools contempt the state’s recently elected politician signing an enforcement order saying parents should determine whether their children deterioration masks astatine school.

Beware of Covid-19 investigating scams, authorities officials warn

Starting Wednesday, Americans volition beryllium capable to bid escaped Covid-19 tests done a national website — covidtests.gov.

One cardinal tests volition beryllium available, and each household volition beryllium constricted to 4 tests initially.

Murthy said 50 cardinal tests person been sent to assemblage wellness centers astir the country. And radical with backstage security tin present get up to eight tests per person per month.

Yet the existent deficiency of investigating availability successful immoderate areas has led to scammers taking vantage of those successful need.

Attorneys wide successful Oregon, New Mexico and Illinois warned consumers of “pop-up” Covid-19 investigating sites that mightiness springiness mendacious results oregon skim idiosyncratic information.

People should beryllium “cautious astir pop-up investigating sites that complaint out-of-pocket fees, bash not show logos, bash not disclose the laboratory performing the test, are not affiliated with a known organization, oregon that inquire for delicate information, similar societal information numbers, that is not indispensable for insurance,” Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said.

Researcher: ‘Ending isolation astatine time 5 should see a antagonistic accelerated antigen test’

Current guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says radical infected with Covid-19 tin extremity isolation aft 5 days if they don’t person symptoms, and that they should deterioration a disguise astir others for astatine slightest 5 much days.

The CDC said the champion attack for idiosyncratic with entree to a trial is to usage it toward the extremity of their five-day isolation period, the CDC said, a antagonistic trial effect is not indispensable to extremity isolation astatine 5 days.

But a new study on the infectiousness of the Omicron variant recovered that galore radical were inactive assumed to beryllium contagious 5 days aft their infections were initially detected — suggesting a much cautious attack whitethorn beryllium needed.

Researchers looked astatine 10,324 Covid-19 trial results from 537 NBA players and others affiliated with the league, uncovering 97 confirmed and suspected Omicron cases.

Among 27 radical who tested affirmative 1 oregon less days aft a erstwhile antagonistic test, 52% were inactive assumed infectious 5 days aft their corruption was detected, the survey found.

And among 70 radical who tested affirmative 2 oregon much days aft a erstwhile antagonistic test, 39% were inactive assumed infectious 5 days aft their corruption was detected.

“Ending isolation astatine time 5 should see a antagonistic accelerated antigen test,” said 1 of the study’s researchers, Nathan Grubaugh with the Yale School of Public Health. “Otherwise isolation needs to beryllium extended.”

In California, the regular mean of caller coronavirus cases is 86,929. The regular mean of deaths owed to the illness is 46.

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