A man undergoes a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test at a pop-up testing site in New York on April 11, 2022.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Covid infections are on the rise again in the US, with outbreaks in New York City and Washington, DC resulting in senior government officials being infected with the virus while the more contagious subvariant omicron BA.2 sweeps the country.
BA.2 now accounts for 86% of new cases, almost completely displacing the earlier version of omicron that fueled the unprecedented winter surge, according to Covid surveillance data released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to studies from the UK and Denmark, the subvariant BA.2 is 30% to 80% more transmissible than the earlier Omicron BA.1.
The U.S. reported a daily average of about 29,000 new infections on Sunday, a 10% increase from the previous two weeks, according to data from the CDC. However, infections and hospitalizations are still more than 90% below the peak of the Omicron surge in January.
Though infections are rising, most counties still have low levels of Covid transmission and hospitalizations, meaning people living in those areas are not required to wear masks indoors, per CDC public health guidance . White House Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said this week that Covid will continue to circulate in communities for the foreseeable future and people will need to make individual decisions about the risk they are willing to take based on their age and health status.
“What we’re hoping, and I believe will happen, is that you won’t see a simultaneous comparable increase in severity in terms of people requiring hospitalizations and deaths,” Fauci told ABC’s This Week. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky previously said that the US population has a sufficiently high level of immunity to vaccines and past infections to offer some protection against BA.2.
Subvariant BA.2 is even more dominant in the NE, where it is causing a significant outburst. BA.2 represents 92% of new cases in the region, which includes New York and New Jersey, according to CDC data. New York City is reporting an average of 1,887 new infections per day as of Saturday, up 52% over the past two weeks, according to the city’s health department.
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New York City Mayor Eric Adams tested positive for the virus on Sunday after waking up with a hoarse voice. Adams attended the Gridiron Dinner in Washington, an annual event that brings together prominent government officials and journalists. At least 80 people who attended the dinner, the first since 2019, have tested positive for Covid, including several senior government officials, according to Gridiron Club president Tom DeFrank.
Attorney General Merrick Garland, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, MPs Joaquin Castro and Adam Schiff, and Senator Susan Collins all tested positive after attending the dinner.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, also tested positive for Covid last week but had no symptoms and did not attend the Gridiron Dinner. Pelosi’s positive result came a day after she stood next to President Joe Biden at a sighing ceremony. Biden, who also did not attend the Gridiron Dinner, subsequently tested negative for Covid.
The outburst among White House cabinet officials and senior lawmakers comes as the rate of Covid infections in Washington has risen 73% in two weeks, although overall transmission levels remain low compared to the winter surge. BA.2 represents 84% of new cases in the Mid-Atlantic region, which includes the country’s capital.
Philadelphia, meanwhile, became the first major U.S. city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate effective April 18. The city made the decision after Covid cases rose more than 50% in 10 days, according to Dr. Cheryl Bettigole, Philadelphia Health Commissioner.