The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning U.S. residents to consider wearing masks in indoor settings amid a new surge of infections caused by mutant forms of the Omicron coronavirus variant. The average number of confirmed daily coronavirus infections across the U.S. has topped 100,000 for the first time since February — and that total fails to account for cases that go unreported or detected by at-home tests.
New York City raised its COVID alert level to “high” on Wednesday, even as Mayor Eric Adams rejected calls to impose mask mandates and other public health measures.
Mayor Eric Adams: “Variants are going to come. If every variant that comes, we move into shutdown thoughts, we move into panicking, we’re not going to function as a city.”
On Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said he tested positive for coronavirus during a trip to Germany and is isolating in Berlin with mild symptoms. Meanwhile, President Biden’s daughter, Ashley Biden, has tested positive for COVID-19 and will cancel plans to join first lady Jill Biden on a trip to Central and South America.