The Omicron variant is now dominant in the US

By Jack Guy, Melissa Mahtani, Melissa Macaya, Meg Wagner and Aditi Sangal

Updated 7:20 a.m. ET, December 21, 2021
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1:07 p.m. ET, December 20, 2021

Washington, DC, mayor reinstates city-wide mask order and declares state of emergency

From CNN’s Sarah Fortinsky and Sonnet Swire

Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a state of emergency and reinstated the city-wide mask order that she had lifted on Nov. 22.

Bowser said the indoor mask mandate will go into effect at 6 a.m. ET Tuesday, Dec. 21 through Jan. 31. It comes as DC has been experiencing its highest daily coronavirus case count since the start of the pandemic. 

The mayor said the purpose of the state of emergency declaration was "primarily to expand our administrative tools." She said the District will implement a six-part action plan to limit the spread of the virus.

The DC government mandate will also be expanded so that employees will be required to get a booster shot on top of their vaccination. Employees will no longer have the option of partaking in frequent testing instead of getting vaccinated, Bowser added.

The District is expanding testing centers and will offer free Covid-19 rapid antigen testing kits to residents, Bowser said.

Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated the date that the indoor mask mandate will be reinstated.

1:25 p.m. ET, December 20, 2021

2 more National Hockey League teams forced to shut down due to Covid-19 cases

From CNN's Wayne Sterling

The Montreal Canadiens and the Philadelphia Flyers stand on the ice in an empty arena after the Quebec Government requested that their game be played without spectators at Centre Bell on December 16, in Montreal.
The Montreal Canadiens and the Philadelphia Flyers stand on the ice in an empty arena after the Quebec Government requested that their game be played without spectators at Centre Bell on December 16, in Montreal. (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

Nine National Hockey League (NHL) teams have now been forced to shut down due to the rise of positive Covid-19 cases.

On Monday, the NHL announced that two more teams are stopping operations through at least the holiday break – the Columbus Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens – because of "concern for continued COVID spread," the league said.

The Blue Jackets and Canadiens join the Colorado Avalanche, Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators and Detroit Red Wings.

The Blue Jackets upcoming games will be postponed. They were scheduled to play the Buffalo Sabres on the road on Monday and at home on Thursday.

The Canadiens will also pause team activities. Montreal's upcoming games this week had been previously postponed.

Thirty-seven games have been postponed since last Monday, 42 overall.

The NHL said a decision on when each team’s training facilities will re-open will be made by the league and the National Hockey League Players' Association in the coming days. 

12:34 p.m. ET, December 20, 2021

Boston municipal employees will no longer be able to opt out of a Covid-19 vaccine with regular testing

From CNN’s Evan Simko-Bednarski

Boston's city employees will no longer be able to opt out of a Covid-19 vaccine with regular testing, Mayor Michelle Wu announced Monday. The change goes into effect on Jan. 15.

The announcement was made at City Hall on Monday during a news conference that was nearly drowned out by a few dozen protestors in the building lobby. The protestors sang the national anthem and chanted "USA" through megaphones, holding signs protesting vaccination mandates.

Amid jeers, Wu said, "There is nothing more American than coming together to ensure that we are taking care of each other."

According to the city of Boston, over 90% of city workers are already at least partially vaccinated. The city recently revised down the number of employees on unpaid leave due to non-compliance to 23 as of Dec. 13.

12:31 p.m. ET, December 20, 2021

UK prime minister: "We will have to reserve the possibility of taking further action" on Covid-19

From CNN's Lauren Kent in London

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pays a visit to a vaccination center in Ramsgate, England, on Thursday, December 16.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pays a visit to a vaccination center in Ramsgate, England, on Thursday, December 16. (Leon Neal/Pool/AP)

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that he may take action to prevent the further spread of coronavirus and the Omicron variant if required. 

"We will have to reserve the possibility of taking further action to protect the public, and to protect public health and the NHS," Johnson said following a UK cabinet meeting, adding that he "won't hesitate to take that action."

Johnson said the cabinet agreed the "situation is extremely difficult" given that the United Kingdom is experiencing "cases of Omicron surging across the country now" and "hospitalizations rising quite steeply in London." 

12:34 p.m. ET, December 20, 2021

UK reports second-highest number of daily Covid-19 cases since start of pandemic 

From CNN’s Allegra Goodwin in London

People line up outside a vaccination centre at the NHS Scotland Leith Community Treatment Centre, in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Monday, December 20.
People line up outside a vaccination centre at the NHS Scotland Leith Community Treatment Centre, in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Monday, December 20. (Jane Barlow/PA Wire/AP)

The United Kingdom reported 91,743 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, the second-highest figure since the beginning of the pandemic, according to government data.

That is up from 82,886 cases on Sunday.

The UK also reported at least 44 deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test on Monday, bringing the death toll to 147,261 since the pandemic began. 

More on the situation in the UK: The United Kingdom is in the grip of a surge in Omicron infections, with Health Secretary Sajid Javid telling the BBC on Sunday that he could not rule out restrictions before Christmas.

The Omicron variant now accounts for around 60% of Covid-19 cases in England, Javid also told Sky News Sunday.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph newspaper, Javid said that while a lot was still unknown about the severity of Omicron, the UK did know it was facing "a tsunami of infections in the coming days and weeks."

CNN's Sheena McKenzie contributed reporting to this post.

11:45 a.m. ET, December 20, 2021

The Omicron variant has been identified in at least 45 US states

From CNN's Travis Caldwell

People wait in line outside a Covid-19 mobile testing site in the Upper West Side neighborhood of New York, on Sunday, December 19.
People wait in line outside a Covid-19 mobile testing site in the Upper West Side neighborhood of New York, on Sunday, December 19. (Angus Mordant/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

With the Delta and Omicron coronavirus variants spreading across the nation as the new year approaches, health experts are urging Americans to get vaccinated or boosted to protect themselves and others before they face greater chances of infection.

Airport travel before Christmas is up by nearly double from a year ago, according to Transportation Security Administration data, with more than 2 million people screened each day from December 16-18. And the indoor gatherings among friends and family could ultimately infect more who are at higher risk for Covid-19 complications.

Omicron has been identified in at least 45 US states as of Sunday, according to state officials in their respective states, as well as Puerto Rico and Washington, DC. And with Delta still present, cases in some areas are rising.

New York — which was among the hardest-hit states at the beginning of the pandemic — set a new record for single-day Covid-19 cases for a third consecutive day Sunday, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul's office.

There's generally about a three-week lag behind Covid-19 case trends and hospitalizations, according to a CNN Health analysis, but officials are hopeful the state will be in a more favorable position than last year.

"This is not March of 2020, we are not defenseless," Hochul said. "We have the tools to protect ourselves and the vulnerable loves ones in our families: Get vaccinated, get the booster and wear a mask when indoors or in large gatherings. Don't take a chance during the winter surge."

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu told CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that the state has been preparing for a winter surge and hopes to combat Covid-19 spread with measures including state-issued at-home testing and flexing beds within hospitals. Bringing in health care workers from other states has been key as well, Sununu said.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan predicted that the state will see "probably the worst surge we've seen in our hospitals throughout the entire crisis" over the next three to five weeks, telling "Fox News Sunday" that officials are "trying to do everything we can to get the last 9.2% of our population vaccinated."

Lockdowns are not being considered, he said, and decried a return to remote learning in schools since protocols currently in place should be sufficient.

Read more about the variants and its impacts here.

10:53 a.m. ET, December 20, 2021

Nearly 80% of ICU beds are full across the US. Here's what you need to know about the pandemic today.

From CNN's Elise Hammond and Deidre McPhillips

Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), holds up a model of COVID-19, known as coronavirus, during a US Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the plan to research, manufacture and distribute a coronavirus vaccine, known as Operation Warp Speed, July 2, 2020 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), holds up a model of COVID-19, known as coronavirus, during a US Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the plan to research, manufacture and distribute a coronavirus vaccine, known as Operation Warp Speed, July 2, 2020 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Saul Loeb/Getty Images)

As people start to travel for the holidays, doctors warn the surge in Covid-19 cases could continue thanks to the heightened transmissibility of the Omicron variant.

National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins said Friday that the Omicron variant is so contagious it could potentially cause hundreds of thousands, and up to a million, cases a day. Even if it’s milder overall, the sheer volume of cases could lead to a rise in hospitalizations.

Experts say the Delta variant is driving the December surge in cases, but they are keeping a close eye on the new variant as they continue to learn more about it. Omicron currently accounts for nearly 3% of Covid-19 cases in the US vs. Delta’s nearly 97%, according to the latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Doctors and the Biden administration reiterate that the US has tools to prevent the worst. Data shows vaccines are effective in protecting against severe disease.

Here's a look at where things stand:

US cases

  • The US is now averaging 130,499 new Covid-19 cases each day, according to Johns Hopkins University.
  • This is 10% higher than a week ago, and back to levels last seen about two months ago during the summer surge.
  • Nearly 80% of the country's intensive care unit beds are already full, and one in five are Covid-19 patients, according to data from the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Vaccines

  • Unvaccinated people face a 10 times greater risk of testing positive and 20 times greater risk of dying from Covid-19 than fully vaccinated people who have also received a booster, according to data published recently by the CDC.
  • Moderna said that preliminary data suggests its half-dose booster shot increased antibody levels against Omicron compared with the levels seen when a fully vaccinated person does not receive a booster, but a larger-sized dose of the booster increases antibody levels even more. The company also said it is working on variant-specific boosters.

Global cases

  • Stricter Covid-19 measures have come into effect across Europe, as several nations rush to curb the spread of the Omicron variant.
  • The annual World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, due to take place in January, has been deferred due to “continued uncertainty” over the Omicron outbreak. It will be the second year in a row that an in-person event has not taken place.
  • Case numbers in South Africa have started to decline, according to the national chair of the South African Medical Association. Officials said the Omicron variant has not caused the death rate to spike and the cases are less severe than Delta cases.

New York

  • One in eight new Covid-19 cases reported in the US last week were in New York.
  • New York State set a new record for single-day Covid-19 cases for a third consecutive day Sunday, according to data released by the governor's office. The state reported 22,478 positive Covid-19 cases, up from 21,908 on Saturday and 21,027 on Friday.

Travel

  • A Royal Caribbean cruise ship that docked in Miami over the weekend had 48 people aboard who tested positive for Covid-19, the cruise line said. There were more than 6,000 guests and crew members, meaning fewer than 1% of the people aboard tested positive.
  • As people start traveling for the holidays, doctors are recommending some safety precautions for those who want to keep their Christmas plans. This includes quarantining for at least three days before your visit, getting tested and getting vaccinated. You can read more here.

10:14 a.m. ET, December 20, 2021

Moderna: It's up to US health officials to decide whether boosters should be administered at a larger dose

From CNN's Jacqueline Howard

It is now up to US public health authorities to consider whether Moderna's coronavirus vaccine booster should be administered at a larger dose, Dr. Stephen Hoge, president of the company, said Monday.

Moderna announced Monday that a larger-sized booster dose of its vaccine, at 100 micrograms, increases antibody levels against Omicron more than the smaller 50-microgram dose that is currently administered as a booster. 

Moderna spokesperson Colleen Hussey confirmed to CNN in an emailed statement Monday that the company is "sharing the data with regulators as they begin to assess if any changes to the authorized boosters need to be made."

Moderna's current coronavirus vaccine booster is authorized for emergency use in the United States and administered as a half-dose at 50 micrograms, and authorized at the 100-microgram dose for people who are severely immunocompromised. 

"The decision of whether to deploy 100 micrograms or a higher dose is really one for public health agencies at this point. We are just providing the data, and obviously we'll share it with everybody so that they can make that determination" Hoge said during a company conference call.

"You could imagine that those who are at high risk of exposure, for instance health care workers, or those that are at high risk of severe disease -- even from Omicron even if it tends to hopefully be more mild than Delta — that it would make sense to provide a higher level of neutralizing protection," Hoge said. "But again, that is a decision principally now for public health officials. The authorized dose that we have today is the 50 micrograms."

The company says that preliminary data now suggests its half-dose booster increases antibody levels 37-fold against Omicron compared with the levels seen when a fully vaccinated person does not receive a booster — but a full 100-microgram dose increases antibody levels 83-fold. 

9:55 a.m. ET, December 20, 2021

Cases are rising "sharply" in New York City but hospitalizations are not, health commissioner says

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

People queue to be tested for Covid-19 at a street-side testing booth in New York on December 17, 2021
People queue to be tested for Covid-19 at a street-side testing booth in New York on December 17, 2021 (Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images)

With at least 22,478 positive Covid-19 cases, New York state set a new record for single-day case count for a third consecutive day Sunday. In New York City, cases are rising "sharply" but hospitalizations are not, according to the city's health commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi.

"Right now, there are about a thousand people hospitalized with Covid-19 across New York City. That's about a quarter of where we were at the peak of last winter's wave and less than a tenth of where we were in the spring of 2020," he told CNN.

The Omicron variant is "likely to be the greatest" threat for the unvaccinated, Chokshi added.

"The fact that New York City has built up our vaccination rate, we have over 70% of our entire population that's fully vaccinated, it will help. It's a sea wall against the Omicron wave. We have to continue building upon that with booster doses and getting as many people vaccinated as possible," he said Monday.

Meanwhile, the city is seeing an "unprecedented demand" for testing in the last few days, Chokshi said, adding that while the city is ramping up testing, he hopes for more help from the federal government.

"This supply is particularly important because we want people to test if they're feeling ill, because it helps them to isolate and that helps us to break the chains of transmission," Chokshi said. 

Watch the interview: