The U.S. Faces Another Covid Christmas as Omicron Fuels a Rise in Cases

In a country already struggling with full hospitals and virus fatigue, the variant has contributed to spikes in some states.

With the holiday travel season already underway, new coronavirus cases are surging in the United States, prompting governors and mayors to once again wrestle with how far to go to combat the virus as federal officials said that Omicron has become by far the dominant form of new virus cases in the country.

In New York State, reports of new cases shot up more than 80 percent over two weeks. In Washington, D.C., where the mayor reinstated an indoor mask mandate on Monday, more than three times as many infections are being identified each day as at the start of December. In Boston, another place where cases are surging, Mayor Michelle Wu on Monday announced proof-of-vaccination requirements for certain indoor spaces like gyms and restaurants — but notably did not order any places to shut down.

“We all remember the gravity and uncertainty as those early weeks turned into months,” the mayor said of the grim spring of 2020, “as schools were shut down along with small businesses, child care and so many parts of our daily support systems.”