New COVID-19 Variant Has Officials Wary, Urge Health Precautions
Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday it is only a matter of time before the new COVID-19 variant Omicron appears in New York State but was optimistic that if residents take common-sense precautions, they will be protected.
Last Friday, Hochul declared a state of emergency shortly after it was reported that the new variant likely originated in southern Africa and has been confirmed in about 15 countries as of Monday afternoon, including Canada and the province of Ontario, which borders western New York State.
“We are fully monitoring this,” Hochul said during her Nov. 29 briefing. “We have some ways to defend against this. We’re not defenseless like we were one year ago and we all know what exactly has to happen.”
Dr. Kirsten St. George, director of virology and chief of the Laboratory of Viral Diseases at the state’s Wadsworth Center, said Monday afternoon that there have been no cases of the Omicron variant found yet in New York State or the United States. Virologists at labs around the country and internationally are monitoring the progression of the variant, she said.
However, the governor said that will almost certainly change in the coming days or weeks.
Hochul urged any residents who have not taken the COVID-19 vaccine to do so as quickly as possible, to get a booster shot if they are eligible, which would be at least six months after completing the initial series, wear masks inside public spaces, social distance when possible and wash hands frequently.
The state of emergency enables health officials to limit elective surgeries at hospitals with diminishing patient capacity because of a surge in COVID-19 cases, helps the state acquire more tests and makes sure that nursing homes have enough staff this winter. Hochul said she would call on the National Guard to assist at nursing homes as well as tapping foreign countries and nursing and medical schools to provide personnel, if necessary.
Hospital capacity, which is diminishing to worrisome levels in some areas of upstate New York as active cases surge, is one of the chief concerns for the governor. Capacity stands at 9 percent in the Finger Lakes region and 11 percent in Western New York, she said.
By comparison, the Mid Hudson region, which includes Westchester and Putnam counties, has the greatest capacity at 31 percent, followed closely by New York City (28 percent) and Long Island (27 percent).
“This is what keeps me up at night, making sure our hospitals have the capacity to handle the influx of patients, whether it’s from COVID or otherwise,” Hochul said.
She expects a further spike in cases and hospitalizations in about 10 days resulting from family gatherings over the Thanksgiving weekend.
High vaccination rates seem to correlate to comfortable hospital capacity throughout the state, Hochul added.
As of Monday, there were 2,829 COVID-19-related hospitalizations statewide, with another 41 fatalities recorded on Sunday. While the statewide vaccination rate of 90.3 percent – the percentage of adults 18 and up who have received at least one dose of one of the three vaccines – is strong, there are upstate counties that have rates in the 50s and 60s.
Meanwhile, Westchester, at a 92.2 percent vaccination rate, has the fourth-highest percentage in New York and is one of only four counties that have surpassed 90 percent. The others are Queens (97.3), Nassau County (96.6) and Manhattan (94.4). Putnam County stands at 86.9 percent.
County Executive George Latimer said while there are still many unknowns regarding the Omicron variant, at this point a strong vaccination rate helps to keep most people out of the hospital and prevents them from dying.
“Vaccinations are the key to fighting this COVID virus,” Latimer said. “That is, it doesn’t mean we rest on our laurels, but it does mean we understand where we are in the degree of urgency compared to other places and it is the urgency that leads us to take additional action.”
Despite active cases in the county now reaching 2,127 as of last Thursday, just over three-quarters from the high of about 2,800 cases in August, COVID-19-related hospitalizations as of Monday stood at 52, less than half the summer high of 108.
Additionally, there has been an average of just one fatality a week over the past three weeks.
County Health Commissioner Dr. Sherlita Amler listed a number of concerns about the latest variant that will likely be answered over the next few weeks. Key questions include whether Omicron is more transmissible than the Delta variant, will it evade the vaccines and how accurately will it be picked up by the current COVID tests?
Social distancing, mask-wearing in large gatherings and conscientious hand washing should be followed, Amler said.
“I think the best thing that we can do besides vaccines is the things that we’ve been doing for the last two years,” she said.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/