Tonight, top government officials are warning that the United States is likely to see a record numbers of new infection cases and hospitalizations as the highly contagious Omicron variant rips across the country. The Delta variant still accounts for the most of new infections but Omicron is now in at least forty-six states plus the District of Columbia. Fueling the spread some thirty-eight percent of the Americans who still are not fully vaccinated.

This is on track to be the one of the busiest days at airports across the country, as concerns about Omicron intensify. As Americans prepare for holiday gatherings, already stressed hospitals are bracing for a new wave of Covid, fueled by the highly contagious Omicron variant. The new threat prompting the government to get ready to once again deploy medical surge teams. Covid cases are climbing across the country, with nighty percent of Americans in high or substantial risk areas. Driven by Delta, new cases are a hundred and twenty-five thousand per day. Hospitalizations are up fifty percent higher than last month and nearly thirteen hundred people are dying of Covid every day. In New York City, a record today for the number of new infections prompting people to rush to testing sites with waiting lines for hours. And that concern is for more than just people who are flying for the holiday, Caribbean is now reporting forty-eight positive cases on one of its ship now docked Miami.