US Omicron Emergency with 200,000 New Cases... Hawaii Also Reports Over 1,000 Cases for Three Consecutive Days

LA County, Florida, and New York Continue to Increase

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[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] The United States has entered an 'Omicron emergency' as the number of new COVID-19 cases approaches 200,000 due to the spread of the Omicron variant. In Hawaii, where overseas travel is highly preferred domestically, over 1,000 new cases have been reported for three consecutive days.

According to data compiled by The New York Times (NYT) on the 25th (local time), the average daily number of cases over the past week as of Christmas Eve, the 24th, was 197,358, an increase of 65% compared to two weeks ago. During this period, the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations exceeded 70,000, and the average daily death toll reached 1,345, increasing by 10% and 3% respectively compared to two weeks ago.

In Los Angeles (LA) County, California, nearly 10,000 new cases were reported in a single day. On the 24th, the number of new cases was 9,988, a 15.7% increase compared to the previous day. Barbara Ferrer, Director of the County Public Health Department, warned, "If infections continue to rise at this rate, the daily number of cases could exceed 20,000 by the end of the year, reaching an all-time high."

The number of children hospitalized due to Omicron variant infections is also increasing. The New York City Department of Health urged parents to vaccinate all children aged five and older, stating that the number of hospitalized children has quadrupled in the three weeks since the 5th. New York City did not disclose the exact number of hospitalized children.

Hawaii, far from the U.S. mainland, has not escaped the spread of the Omicron variant. For three consecutive days, over 1,000 new cases have been reported in Hawaii, with cumulative infections exceeding 100,000. Currently, travelers to Hawaii can enter without separate quarantine if they submit COVID-19 vaccination certificates and negative test results. However, according to government quarantine guidelines due to the Omicron spread, a 10-day quarantine is required upon returning to the mainland.

The spread of Omicron is also expected to impact the domestic aviation and travel industries. According to Interpark Tour’s '2022 Overseas Air Ticket Reservation Data' (based on advance reservations from June to July), Hawaii was ranked first among preferred destinations for trips departing next year after COVID-19. Major domestic airlines such as Korean Air and Asiana Airlines had planned to increase flights to Hawaii in January and April next year to meet the growing travel demand, but recent Omicron spread has disrupted these plans.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.