As Christmas and Hanukkah are right around the corner, the rise of a new Covid-19 variant Omicron poses a threat not only to peoples’ holiday plans, but also health. And while so far the new variant has not yet proven as deadly as previous variants, it’s still fast-spreading. Here’s what you should know.
The total number of states that Omicron has been detected in is now 25, with the latest including southern states like Texas, Georgia, Louisiana and Florida, but officials expect this number to only go up.
The deadlier Delta variant had pushed positive cases over 100k per day, a 16% increase over the previous week and up 23% since before Thanksgiving, according to John Hopkins University.
While transmissibility, severity and impact on vaccine efficacy are still yet to be confirmed by officials, data shows that omicron is sparking a faster surge in positive cases in South Africa, and is potentially twice as transmissible as the Delta variant.
And while deaths from this new variant still remain relatively low, scientists are concerned about how quickly it’s spreading in highly vaccinated places like Europe and the U.K. Meanwhile private and government labs across the country are increasing genome sequencing efforts to detect new variants.
For those traveling during the holidays, it’s more important than ever to stay safe while seeing loved ones. We’re here to get you to your destination comfortably and safely, so you can leave holiday travel stress to us.