No cases of Omicron COVID variant reported in US so far, CDC says

(NY Post)--No cases of the new COVID–19 Omicron variant have been confirmed in the US to date, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. The announcement came after the newly identified strain was classified as a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization on Friday.-- More... (Daily Mail)--The governor of New York on Friday declared a state of emergency as COVID transmission reached rates not seen since April 2020, while insisting that the troubling new variant of COVID that first emerged in Botswana is 'coming'. Her warning came as a leading epidemiologist told DailyMail.com the new strain was deeply troubling, urging tougher travel restrictions and saying the virus could spark 'pandemic 2.0'. -- More...