CHESAPEAKE, Va. — As we say goodbye to 2021, health experts say we’re heading into the new year at the beginning of another surge in COVID cases.
The Chesapeake Health Department’s Public Health Emergency Manager Jerry Tucker said the Omicron variant is to blame for the record case numbers across the state and the country.
“We’re pretty sure that we’re going to see cases exponentially increase as we move forward into January," Tucker said.
“We’re seeing that Omicron can replicate at a rate 70 times more quickly than the Delta variant.”
The Virginia Department of Health reported more than 17,600 new cases on New Year's Eve – the most the state has ever reported in a single day.
Tucker said health care workers are noticing Omicron cases are not as severe.
“Now one good thing to glean from this – what we’re seeing thus far is typically the cases are milder," Tucker said. "But that in no way kind of alleviates the precautions that we should take.”
Data shows that unvaccinated people are more likely to be hospitalized or die from COVID, so Tucker says the virus is still a concern, and his team is bracing for the surge.
Tucker said he’s advising people to keep the masks on and social distance when possible.
“We understand everyone is very tired at this point, so are we. We want to see everyone get back to some semblance of normalcy and I think we will eventually get there," he said.
Tucker said the best thing to do now is to get vaccinated, and get your booster if you haven’t already.