United States health officials are warning residents not to forget about the coronavirus, and thus, the pandemic, with some telling people to "get used to it" as the infection continues to spread to many high-profile people.
America is seeing the first glimpse of what it feels like to experience the COVID-19 outbreaks in a new era of trying to live with the virus. Some of the most recent infections include cabinet members, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, broadway actors, and the governors of New Jersey and Connecticut.
Get Used to It
There have been many outbreaks in the region, including at Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University which has forced authorities to once again impose mask mandates while they seek out quarantine space. The known infections are believed to be most likely only a small portion of all cases as actors and politicians are regularly tested at work.
Many are expecting official case figures to undercount how widely the infection has spread, primarily due to home testing and some individuals suffering from mild symptoms choosing not to get tested at all, as per the Associated Press.
The situation also comes as a new coronavirus variant combination, which has been dubbed as XE, has spread in the UK, further raising fears of how long the pandemic will last. While it is still too early to determine whether or not the new strain is cause of concern, it is a combination of two versions of Omicron, BA.1 and BA.2.
Experts said it was a common phenomenon for viruses to recombine, and this particular variant was identified in early January. Since then, it has already infected roughly 600 people in the area. However, it is not yet known whether or not it was more contagious than BA.2, and there were no indications that it can cause more severe disease.
According to USA Today, Susan Hopkins of the UK Health Security Agency released a statement saying that XE has shown a variable growth rate. The official also noted that they were unable to confirm whether it had a true growth advantage. She added that there was not enough evidence to determine the new strain's transmissibility, severity, or vaccine effectiveness.
Spread of the Coronavirus
Pelosi, who is one of the more recent famous individuals who tested positive for the coronavirus, was asymptomatic. A spokesperson for the official said that the speaker was fully vaccinated and had her booster shots and said that she was very glad to have had protection from the vaccine.
What makes the infection of Pelosi a cause for concern is that she is believed to have been in close proximity with United States President Joe Biden during a ceremony for the signing of the U.S. Postal Service Reform Act on Wednesday. But on Thursday, the White House released a statement saying that the president tested negative for the infection.
The White House also said that Biden was not a close contact with Pelosi based on the definition of the term provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They said that the president saw the speaker at White House events and had brief interactions with her over the last two days, Aljazeera reported.
Related Article:
