Iran Press/ America: The fast-spreading Omicron variant of COVID-19 has started leaving an imprint on slices of the US economy as some events are canceled or postponed, consumers cut back on restaurant dining and understaffed businesses shut down in some of the most-afflicted areas such as New York City.
Although there are early positive signs out of South Africa and Britain that Omicron infections more often result in mild illness than previous variants, officials are warning that the new variant could swiftly overtax the health care system and bring significant disease to many communities.
The highly transmissible variant is causing near-vertical case growth in multiple U.S. cities, with figures doubling about every two to three days. Officials expect it to break records. The all-time high for average daily cases was 251,232, set in January. By some estimates, the United States could reach one million cases a day, even before the end of the year. 219
