By — News Desk News Desk Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/watch-live-ny-gov-kathy-hochul-gives-remarks-on-her-administrations-efforts-against-covid-19 Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter WATCH: NY Gov. Kathy Hochul gives remarks on her administration’s efforts against COVID-19 Nation Updated on Dec 29, 2021 4:30 PM EDT — Published on Dec 29, 2021 2:37 PM EDT New York Gov. Kathy Hochul gave remarks on her administration’s efforts against COVID-19 during a news briefing Wednesday. Watch the briefing in the player above Hochul’s briefing comes after news that new cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. have soared to the highest level on record at over 265,000 per day on average, a surge driven largely by the highly contagious omicron variant. The previous mark was 250,000 cases per day, set in mid-January, according to data kept by Johns Hopkins University. WATCH: Understanding the new CDC guidelines for those exposed to, or suffering from, COVID-19 The fast-spreading mutant version of the virus has cast a pall over Christmas and New Year’s, forcing communities to scale back or call off their festivities just weeks after it seemed as if Americans were about to enjoy an almost normal holiday season. Thousands of flights have been canceled amid staffing shortages blamed on the virus. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious-disease expert, said Wednesday that there is no need to cancel small home gatherings among vaccinated and boosted family and friends. But “if your plans are to go to a 40- to 50-person New Year’s Eve party with all the bells and whistles and everybody hugging and kissing and wishing each other a happy new year, I would strongly recommend that this year we not do that,” Fauci said. The number of Americans now in the hospital with COVID-19 is running at around 60,000, or about half the figure seen in January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. While hospitalizations sometimes lag behind case numbers, the figures may reflect not only the protection conferred by the vaccine, but also the possibility that omicron is not making people as severely ill as previous versions. COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. have climbed over the past two weeks from an average of 1,200 per day to around 1,500. By — News Desk News Desk
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul gave remarks on her administration’s efforts against COVID-19 during a news briefing Wednesday. Watch the briefing in the player above Hochul’s briefing comes after news that new cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. have soared to the highest level on record at over 265,000 per day on average, a surge driven largely by the highly contagious omicron variant. The previous mark was 250,000 cases per day, set in mid-January, according to data kept by Johns Hopkins University. WATCH: Understanding the new CDC guidelines for those exposed to, or suffering from, COVID-19 The fast-spreading mutant version of the virus has cast a pall over Christmas and New Year’s, forcing communities to scale back or call off their festivities just weeks after it seemed as if Americans were about to enjoy an almost normal holiday season. Thousands of flights have been canceled amid staffing shortages blamed on the virus. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious-disease expert, said Wednesday that there is no need to cancel small home gatherings among vaccinated and boosted family and friends. But “if your plans are to go to a 40- to 50-person New Year’s Eve party with all the bells and whistles and everybody hugging and kissing and wishing each other a happy new year, I would strongly recommend that this year we not do that,” Fauci said. The number of Americans now in the hospital with COVID-19 is running at around 60,000, or about half the figure seen in January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. While hospitalizations sometimes lag behind case numbers, the figures may reflect not only the protection conferred by the vaccine, but also the possibility that omicron is not making people as severely ill as previous versions. COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. have climbed over the past two weeks from an average of 1,200 per day to around 1,500.