How the COVID-19 omicron variant explosion is collapsing services across the country

By Jennifer Sinco Kelleher and Terry Tang -

The explosion of coronavirus infections in the United States is causing a collapse of basic functions and services in the country, the latest example of how COVID-19 continues to disrupt lives after more than two years of pandemic.

In Kansas, ambulances speed toward hospitals and then suddenly change direction because hospitals are full.

in New York City causes

and the subway, and decreases the lines of firefighters and emergency workers.

Airport officials close security checkpoints at Phoenix's largest terminal, and schools across the country

.

[COVID-19 cases by omicron can go down as fast as they went up, CDC says]

"I think this reminds us all when COVID-19 first appeared and there were major disruptions in all aspects of our normal lives," said Tom Cotter, director of emergency response and preparedness for the global health organization, without encouragement. of profit Project HOPE.

He added: "The unfortunate reality is that

until we manage to increase our vaccination numbers worldwide."

Emergency personnel, hospitals, schools, and government agencies have used the "hands-on" approach to protect people, but they worry how long they will be able to do it.

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In Johnson County, Kansas, for example,

Ambulances have often been forced to change their routes when the hospitals they go to have indicated that they are too overcrowded to help, confusing those who drive emergency vehicles and making family members more anxious. patients.

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When ambulances arrive at hospitals, some of the ER patients end up in waiting rooms

A double hit

Steve Stites, chief physician at the University of Kansas Hospital, said that when the leader of a rural hospital didn't have a place to send his dialysis patients this week, hospital staff consulted a textbook and "tried to put some catheters and figure out how to do it. "

Medical centers, he said, have been hit by a

The number of COVID-19 patients at the University of Kansas Hospital went from 40 on December 1 to 139 on Friday.

The US registers the same number of COVID-19 cases in a week as in the first 6 months of the pandemic

Jan. 8, 202202: 40

At the same time,

with COVID-19 or are awaiting test results, which is equivalent to 7% of the hospital's 13,500-person workforce.

"What I'm hoping, and we're going to cross my fingers, is that as it peaks ... maybe it will have the same rapid decline that we saw in South Africa," Stites said in reference to how quickly the number dropped. cases in that country.

"But we do not know, it is just a hope," he said.

The dominant variant

The omicron variant spreads more easily than other coronavirus strains, and has already become dominant in many countries. 

It also more easily infects those who have been vaccinated

or previously infected with previous versions of the virus.

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However, early studies show that omicron is less likely to cause serious illness than the delta variant, and

against serious illness, hospitalizations, and deaths.

Still, its easy transferability has skyrocketed cases in the United States,

alike.

Pharmacies without staff

This Friday morning, in downtown Boise, Idaho, customers were queuing in front of a pharmacy before it opened, and before long, the queue was stretching through the entire warehouse.

Pharmacies

, either because employees are on sick leave or because they quit.

["I thought one was the normal flu," says a flurone patient in the US]

The pharmacy technician, Anecia Mascorro, said that before the pandemic, the Sav-On pharmacy where she works always had the prescriptions ready for the next day.

Now, it

that arrive.

"The demand is crazy: everyone doesn't get their scripts quickly enough, so they keep transferring it to us," Mascorro said.

Longer response times

As of Thursday, in Los Angeles, more than 800 members of the police and firefighters were off duty due to the virus, causing

.

In New York City, authorities have had to delay or reduce garbage collection and subway services due to staff bleeding caused by the virus.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said that

of metro operators and drivers - 1,300 people - have been absent in recent days.

Nearly a quarter of the city's sanitation department workers were on sick leave Thursday, said Edward Grayson, Sanitation Commissioner.

["They have stopped listening to us."

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"Everyone works around the clock, 12-hour shifts," he said.

The city's fire department has also adjusted for increased absences.

Officials said Thursday that 28% of emergency services workers were ill, compared with 8% or 10% on a typical day.

Twice as many firefighters were also absent

as usual.

The Police Department, by contrast, saw its casualty rate decline over the past week, according to authorities.

Chaos in airports and schools

At Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, two checkpoints in the busiest terminal were closed because

from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) showed up for work.

Meanwhile, schools from coast to coast tried to maintain face-to-face teaching despite massive teacher absences.

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In Chicago,

between the school district and the teachers union over distance learning and COVID-19 safety protocols caused classes to be canceled for the past three days.

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In Hawaii, where public schools depend on a state district,

due to illness or vacation or pre-arranged leave.

The state teachers union criticized education officials for failing to better prepare for the vacuum that ensued.

Osa Tui Jr., head of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, said counselors and security guards were being removed to go

. "

"That is very inappropriate," Tui told a news conference.

"Having this model where there are so many teachers out there and the department saying, 'Send your child' to a classroom that doesn't have a teacher, what's the point?"

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In New Haven, Connecticut, where hundreds of teachers have been on leave every day this week, administrators have helped man the classrooms. 

Some teachers say they appreciate it, but it can be confusing for students,

to what they already feel about the pandemic.

"We've already been put to the test a lot. How far can the rubber band stretch here?" Asked Leslie Blatteau, president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers.