New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is calling on United States President Joe Biden for assistance as the region continues to struggle in fighting off the rising number of infections caused by the Omicron coronavirus variant.
The coronavirus surge caused by the new variant has forced authorities to cancel the city's Radio City Music Hall's annual "Christmas Spectacular" scheduled for the weekend. It also resulted in Saturday Night Live featuring a broadcast without a live studio audience and having only a small cast.
Help From the Federal Government
In a statement, de Blasio said that the White House needed to invoke the Defense Production Act that would help in assisting to provide a larger number of at-home tests. The official said that it would also help in giving access to monoclonal antibody treatments.
The NYC mayor said that the Democratic leader's administration should work on fast-tracking approval of an antiviral pill from Pfizer. During a briefing on Sunday, de Blasio said that his city needed help immediately. He argued that New Yorkers needed a lot of support from the federal government as the new variant continues to devastate the region, Politico reported.
De Blasio also announced that the city will be opening more testing sites to help identify the spread of the new Omicron variant. Fear of the surge of infections has caused long lines at testing sites, with the NYC mayor saying that the "world has changed." He noted that the demand for testing for the coronavirus has spiked.
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New York Governor Kathy Hochul revealed that Sunday was the day where the city observed the third day in a row of record-high positive cases for COVID-19. Across the state, officials recorded 22,478 cases, with 12,404 of which coming from New York City alone.
Amid criticisms of delayed testing, de Blasio argued that there was no indication of how the Omicron variant would spread. The official said that the moment they observed the potential effects of the new variant, they ramped up testing across the region, CBS News reported.
Vaccinations and Booster Shots
During the NYC mayor's Sunday address, he and Mayor-elect Eric Adams promoted vaccinations and booster shots in an attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus. In the past week, the city has observed a spiking number of coronavirus infections, with cases doubling within days.
The two officials delivered a unified message to New York residents: get vaccinated and get boosted now. The recommendations come as the city's health department released data that showed about 71% of all residents in New York are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus infection.
"Vaccination remains vital even against Omicron because it can protect you from severe disease," said Dr. Dave Chokshi, the city's health commissioner on Sunday. The medical professional, who is New York's top doctor, referred to the new variant as the "fastest, fittest, and more formidable" one yet, NBC New York reported.
In his last days in office, de Blasio said that New York has become better equipped to handle the coronavirus pandemic than in previous waves. He acknowledged that while there have been significant increases in infection rates, vaccines, booster shots, and expanded testing apparatus helped in curbing the spread of the virus.
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