Broadway is closing down shows, the NFL has rescheduled several football games, and the Radio City Rockettes have cancelled a string of holiday shows reports ABCNews.
The Washington Post reports that Prince George’s County Schools in Maryland have gone to remote learning until mid-January due to a startling rise in cases.
Houston Texas has had several restaurants close temporarily due to staff either testing positive for, or potentially being exposed to Covid19.
The shutdowns are happening as reports of new Covid infections are on the rise across the US and Europe.
There is ongoing debate as to whether the new Omicron variant is really less lethal, or more transmissible than earlier variants. Early data has shown an increase in the number of deaths in Covid19 deaths in the United States for the past week.
Early analysis of the Omicron variant suggests that symptoms are relatively mild in those who have had prior infection or who are vaccinated, but health researchers suspect it could still make individuals who have no prior exposure to Covid very ill. The rapid spread of the Omicron variant may also prompt further discussion of the creation of “Covid boosters” that would be administered on an annual basis to help provide immunity to new strains that evolve in the future.