Thread by @MarkLevineNYC

NYC's omicron wave has fallen out of the headlines. But it still demands our attention.

The number of people getting sick, and the number of people being hospitalized, are disrupting our city in profound ways.

We must—and can—do more to fight back against this wave. 1/

Though cases are thankfully no longer growing explosively in NYC, they've plateaued at an almost unimaginably high 40k/day (and that doesn't count home tests).

6k+ are hospitalized, higher than any point since spring 2020.

Tragically we’re losing 50+ NYers/day, and rising. 2/

Schools, EMS, and hospitals are all dealing with operational challenges because of how many staff are out with covid. FDNY has been forced to plead with the public not to call 911 unless it is a true emergency. 3/

Every single employment sector in NYC has been disrupted by the huge numbers of staff who are out sick—restaurants, libraries, broadway shows, mass transit, urgent care centers, bank branches… all now have closures or reductions in service. 4/

Thankfully only a very small % of cases are requiring hospitalization. But the # of cases is so huge that hospitals have been hit hard, w/ exhausted staff who themselves are getting sick. This impacts all of us, since hospitals have been forced to reduce elective procedures. 5/

NYC can and must do more to fight this wave. We need strong messaging to the public that this remains a time for caution. We need more resources for home testing, for school testing. We need more distribution of high quality masks. And much more. 6/

Last week I laid out a 16-point plan for fighting back against the omicron wave. Almost all of it remains urgently needed. /7

https://twitter.com/marklevinenyc/status/1477991533475512322?s=21

NYers are exhausted by a crisis now stretching into its third year. But we have rallied again and again throughout the most difficult moments of this pandemic. Let’s push hard now to protect our city in the face of omicron, and unleash the roaring comeback on the horizon. 8/8