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The nation’s capital is reportedly preparing for another COVID-19 surge.
According to Fox 5, Virginia Department of Health officials say omicron subvariants could drive outbreaks in Washington, D.C., and across the country, with current case upticks traced to BA.2 and BA.2.12.1.
The station said models suggest case and hospitalization peaks somewhere between the levels previously seen during the dealt and omicron waves, though the department reportedly says projected deaths are much lower.
Japanese cherry blossoms bloom along the side of the Tidal Basin near the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., March 28, 2004. (REUTERS/Mannie Garcia MG)
While COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the U.S. have fallen substantially since last winter’s surge of the highly transmissible omicron variant, infections have recently rebounded in the Northeast.
New York City raised its COVID-19 alert level to “medium,” and the state’s health department, citing data from April 29, said that the number of accumulated new cases per 100,000 people in the city over the last seven days moved up to 209.02
NYC COVID-19 CASES, ALERT LEVEL RISE
Passengers on a Carnival Cruise Ship that docked Tuesday in Seattle said more than 100 people on the ship had tested positive, and The New York Times reported that journalists from multiple outlets have tested positive for the virus following the annual White House Correspondents Dinner.
Across the U.S. the Johns Hopkins coronavirus resource center said there have been 61,743 cases and 745 new deaths in the last day.
Despite rising case counts, there has been little effort to reimpose pandemic restrictions, including indoor mask mandates.
Last month, a court ruling struck down a national mask mandate on public transportation.
The Department of Justice appealed the ruling at the request of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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The status of the appeal is unclear.
On Tuesday, the CDC restated their recommendation that Americans aged 2 and older don masks or respirators in indoor areas of public transportation and transportation hubs.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
