After reprieve, NYC is rattled by a stunning virus spike
ABC News
Just a couple of weeks ago, New York City seemed like a relative bright spot in the U.S. coronavirus struggle
NEW YORK -- Just a couple of weeks ago, New York City seemed like a relative bright spot in the U.S. coronavirus struggle. Now it's a hot spot, confronting a dizzying spike in cases, scramble for testing, quandary over a major event and exhausting sense of déjà vu.
An omicron-variant-fueled wave of cases is washing over the nation's most populous city, which served as a nightmarish test case for the country early in the pandemic. While health officials say there are important reasons why it's not spring 2020 all over again, some Broadway shows have abruptly canceled performances, an indoor face mask mandate is back and testing is hard to come by.
“It’s disappointing that we haven’t developed a better system for this and that we weren’t better prepared for there to be another wave,” Jordan Thomas said Monday in her fourth hour of waiting for a test at a city-run health clinic near downtown Brooklyn.
With temperatures hovering near freezing, Nina Clark joined the line for the third time since her symptoms started Thursday. Once again, she ended up walking away.
