By the way, the governors will meet while the states are ready for the Omicron summit for the holidays, Reuters said

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden and his White House COVID-19 response team are scheduled to meet on Monday with a group representing the country’s governor, as the Omicron variant spreads across U.S. states this holiday week.

Rising cases curtailed air travel over the Christmas weekend as the flight crew contracted the virus and canceled thousands of flights. Reduced cruises and a lack of widespread utility testing hindered other plans as the variant became more transmissible.

U.S. airlines canceled about 800 flights on Monday, reviving concerns that Omicron could hinder the economy by 2022 for the fourth day in a row.

U.S. COVID-19 infections are on the rise, with an average of 205,509 new infections reported daily, according to a Reuters count.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said Sunday that hospitalizations in his state had doubled in a week because his health department had taken care of them before New Year’s Day.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, a senior U.S. infectious disease official, urged people on Monday to avoid major New Year’s meetings to reduce Omicron-induced cases.

Although officials said that people can gather safely if they are vaccinated with their families, larger celebrations are more dangerous.

“When we are talking about a New Year’s Eve party … I would highly recommend moving away from it this year. There will be other years for that, but not this year,” Fauci Biden’s chief medical adviser told CNN.

Fauci added that he expected the rise in cases to be calmed down in January, but that more infections could flood hospitals in general, especially in areas without vaccines.

“We still have to be very careful,” he told MSNBC one by one.

Biden announced plans to strengthen hospitals and tests last week, but some health experts say it’s too little effort, it’s too late https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/biden-omicron-measures-too-little- too late -expert-moving-viruses-expert-2021-12-23.