Biden, states and other nations brace for rush of omicron infections

The omicron variant is showing that it could overtake delta as the dominant version of the novel coronavirus in some places.

Delta’s spread began a year ago and covered the world by summer. Omicron probably will take over even faster.

Follow along as The Washington Post tracks the new variant and explains how countries are sequencing its spread.

DENVER — The only light in the apartment came from the glow of a computer monitor and a candle that was supposed to smell like Christmas cookies. The trainers had said to cultivate calm and self-care, and Irene Hild was trying. She called over her cat, took a deep breath and logged on to her computer, where the blue logo of the Federal Emergency Management Agency appeared.

“I hope you had a wonderful weekend and you’re ready to go,” came the voice of the shift manager overseeing FEMA’s COVID-19 Funeral Assistance call center. The system had been crashing all morning, she said. “It’s been doing its thing again. Just use your judgment.”

Amid fears of an omicron-fueled pandemic wave, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is mandating boosters for health-care workers, his office announced Tuesday.

“Omicron is spreading rapidly and we must do all we can to keep staff at hospitals and medical facilities healthy and safe to protect Californians during a potential winter surge,” Newsom’s office wrote on Twitter.

Details on the new requirement were limited, but Newsom (D) said more information would be available Wednesday.

California already requires all health-care workers to be fully vaccinated — a mandate that went into effect Sept. 30. But as the fast-spreading variant threatens record infections and hospitalizations, additional-dose requirements are spreading through the state.

The United Kingdom has decreased coronavirus self-isolation time from 10 days to seven to as the omicron variant continues to increase new infections and strain the hospital system in the country, Reuters reported.

English residents who have tested negative on the sixth and seventh days of their self-isolation period can forgo the previously suggested 10-day isolation period, according to Reuters.

However, the U.K. Health Security Agency said those who meet the criteria should limit their time with others, avoid places with subpar ventilation and keep their distance from people most susceptible to illness related to covid-19, Reuters reported.

The omicron variant of the coronavirus has swept the United States in a matter of weeks, reshaping a pandemic now heading toward its third calendar year and leading some experts to expect record-high cases and hospitalizations.

Scientists are racing to learn more about this new variant, which appears more resistant to vaccines and is even faster-spreading than the delta variant that sent infections spiking this year. Public health officials say that getting a booster shot is the No. 1 thing the vaccinated can do to protect against severe illness and, to a lesser extent, infections.

As the omicron variant spreads across the country, Oregon has extended its coronavirus emergency designation.

“We all are tired of this virus,” Gov. Kate Brown (D) wrote in the declaration. “We are all tired of the actions we must take to mitigate the risks of the virus. And yet, this virus continues to threaten and cause widespread sickness, hospitalization, and death for all Oregonians.”

The declaration — which has been extended five times since the pandemic began — is set to remain in effect until June 30. Brown said the extension is necessary to “provide flexibility and resources for the state’s covid-19 response and recovery efforts” — including activating the use of volunteer medical providers and ensuring that Oregon has access to federal disaster relief funds.

In what it is calling a global first, Israel will offer a fourth vaccine shot to citizens age 60 and older as concerns about the omicron variant proliferate.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he ordered the government to immediately prepare for distributing fourth doses.

“As we did with the booster in the delta surge, we intend to be active and groundbreaking, and do everything to win,” he tweeted in Hebrew. “The world will follow us.”

The Health Ministry recommended a fourth dose to people 60 and older and to those who have gone four months since their third dose.

With the omicron variant baring its teeth, the NFL’s revamped coronavirus testing policy will lead to an increase in infections among its ranks, experts said Monday, and could risk spreading the virus as hospital systems struggle to bear the weight of another wave of infections.

But some epidemiologists said the league’s plan also could provide a hint of what the general public can expect as the coronavirus becomes further entrenched in everyday life.

After dozens of players tested positive last week, throwing the league’s schedule into chaos, the NFL retooled its testing strategy, saying it will no longer conduct regular testing of vaccinated players who show no signs of illness. The new policy could keep teams from losing key players during the season’s final weeks. But it also means more players and staff will probably walk into — and out of — team facilities unknowingly infected.