More Omicron cases detected in US as hospitals strain under Delta surge

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WASHINGTON DC: New York announced three more cases of the Omicron variant of the Coronavirus on Saturday, bringing the number of state cases linked to the new variant to eight.

The Omicron variant is here, and as anticipated we are seeing the beginning of community spread, state Health Commissioner Mary Bassett said in a news release.

The number of states finding the variant is growing as well, with Massachusetts and Washington state announcing their first cases on Saturday, a day after New Jersey, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Maryland reported their first confirmed cases. Missouri reported its first presumed case on Friday.

The variant has also been detected in Nebraska, Minnesota, California, Hawaii, Colorado and Utah.

In New York, seven of the cases have been found in New York City, once a global epicentre of the pandemic, and the other in Suffolk County.

The arrival of Omicron comes as hospitals statewide continue to strain under a surge in Coronavirus cases, most traced to the delta variant, along with staffing shortages.

The number of people testing positive statewide each day for the virus has doubled in the last 30 days.

Governor Kathy Hochul in recent days has authorised the Health Department to limit non-essential, non-urgent procedures at hospitals close to running out of beds and deployed National Guard teams to relieve healthcare workers at facilities dealing with staffing issues and surging caseloads.