Planning a big New Year’s Eve party? ‘Stay away from that this year,’ Fauci warns; Biden vows better testing: Latest COVID-19 updates – USA TODAY

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A little champagne and a kiss are fine, but Americans should stay away from big parties this New Year's Eve, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday.

Fauci said in an interview on CNN that people should avoid the gatherings where they dont know the vaccination status of all the guests. The omicron variant is fueling another infection surge, and crowded indoor parties could acceleratespread.

When you are talking about a New Year's Eve party, where you have 30, 40, 50 people celebrating, you do not know the status of the vaccination I would recommend strongly, stay away from that this year," Fauci said. "There will be other years to do that, but not this year."

Fauci did say that a trimmed quarantine period for infected Americans was being considered. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Preventionupdated its guidancefor infected health care workers, saying those who show no symptoms or have mild symptoms can return to work after seven days if they test negative for infection. Previously a 10-day period had been required.

The idea about cutting down the period of quarantine (for everyone)... is something that is under, I would say, serious consideration, Fauci said.

Also in the news:

Minnesota has become the 18th state to report at least 1 million coronavirus cases, Johns Hopkins University data shows.

Up to 300 Massachusetts National Guard members started fanning out across the state Monday to provide much needed help to dozens of understaffed hospitals facing a surge of COVID-19 patients.

The state of Connecticut plans to distribute 3 million at-home COVID-19 rapid tests and 6 million N95 masks to residents beginning as soon as Thursday, Gov. Ned Lamont announced Monday.

Today's numbers:The U.S. has recorded more than 52million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 816,000deaths,accordingtoJohns Hopkins Universitydata.Global totals: More than 279.9 million cases and5.4million deaths. More than 204million Americans 61.7% are fully vaccinated,according to theCDC.

What we're reading:In some counties in the U.S., only half of the spike in deaths during the pandemic has beenattributed to COVID-19. Researchers say that points to a massive undercount.

Keep refreshing this page for the latest news. Want more?Sign up forUSA TODAY's free Coronavirus Watch newsletterto receive updates directly to your inboxandjoin ourFacebook group.

President Joe Biden conceded Monday that his administration has not done enough to provide access to coronavirus testing and promised to step up the effort. Earlier this month the Biden administration touted a plan to combat the latest surge that included 500 million free tests. But those test haven't begun rolling out yet, and demand for tests before holiday gatherings set off a rush that depleted stocks in most pharmacies and other locations.

"Seeing how tough it was for some folks to get a test this weekend shows that we have more work to do," Biden saidduring a call withthe White House Covid-19 Response Team and several governors. "We're doing it."

He said thatstarting in two weeks private insurance will reimburse people for the cost of at home test, and that the government will provideaccess to free tests for people withoutinsurance.

Airlines canceled and delayed thousandsmoreflights Mondayamid a staffing crisis caused by the nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases fueled by the omicron variant.This after more than 1,500 flights within, into or out of the U.S. were canceled Sunday and over 6,000 delayed, the tracking websiteFlightAwarereported.Several airlines said the scheduling issues were caused by staffing problems tied toCOVID-19.

JetBlue spokesperson Derek Dombrowski said the airline has seen an "increasing number" of sick calls because ofthe fast-spreading omicron variant. Thecompany entered the holiday season with the highest staffing levels since the start of the pandemic, he said.He warned that additional cancellations and delays remain a possibility.

The omicron variant isproving to be much morecontagious than the delta variant; omicron now accounts for more than70%of new cases in the U.S., according to the CDC.

FLIGHT CANCELED?What airlines owe you when flights are canceled, delayed

Large-scale, regular testing remains rare in the child care world, but the idea is gaining traction as omicron works its way into communities. Families are fighting to keep their kids inclassrooms, which at the early learning level often stay open during winter break.The upside to regular testing extends far beyond the classrooms and teachers, experts say. Read more here.

Every time a classroom of 12 kids has to close down because of an outbreak, thats at least 12 parents who cant go to work, said Sarah Muncey, co-president and chief innovation officer of Neighborhood Villages, an organization that advocates for earlyeducation reform. If we have multi-pronged testing strategies… we can live through this winter and keep child care and, therefore, the economy open.

Alia Wong

A retired Iowa school superintendent died in late November, nearly a month after he was diagnosed with sepsis, and his family thinksCOVID-19 is indirectly to blame.They say Dale Weeks might have survived if hed been admitted immediately to alarge medical center, where he could have received advanced testing and prompt surgery.But he stayed for 15 days at Newtons relatively small hospitalbecause the bigger Iowa facilities said they couldnt spare a bed for him, his family says. Iowas short-staffed hospitals have been jammed for months with patients, including people severely sickened by COVID-19.

Its infuriating that people who are not vaccinated are clogging it up, said Jenifer Owenson of Des Moines, who is one of Weeks four children.

Tony Leys,Des Moines Register

Private employers operating in New York City must require COVID-19 vaccinations for their workers beginning Mondayunder a sweeping mandate aimed at curbing a spike in the virus.The order affects an estimated 184,000 businesses, and those that do not comply could face fines starting at $1,000. But Mayor Bill de Blasio has said imposing penalties would be a last resort. Unvaccinated workers need not be fired but must be kept out of the workplace.

Employers have to verify and keep a record of each workers proof of vaccination. Workers who have only gotten one shot will have to get a second one within 45 days. Companies must display a sign affirming they are complying with the rule in a conspicuous location, under the citys mandate.

Israel has begun trials of a fourth dose of coronavirus vaccine with 150 medical personnel who received a booster dose in August receiving a fourth shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. The staff receiving the additional dose were tested and found to have low antibody levels.

The trial came as Israeli officials have considered rolling out a second tranche of booster shots to its population. Israel, like much of the world, is grapplingwith rising infections from the omicron variant. Over 4.2 million of Israels 9.3 million people have received a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

This study is expected to shed light on the additional benefit of giving a fourth dose, and lead us to understand whether and to whom it is worth giving a fourth dose, said Dr. Gili Regev-Yochay, director of the Infectious Disease Epidemiology Unit at Sheba Medical Center

Even with testing disruptions from the Christmas holiday, America still reported dramatically worse COVID-19 numbers on Sunday.

In just the most recent 17 days the country has reported more new coronavirus cases than it had in all of November, a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the week ending Sunday, the country reported 1.39 million cases nearly 200,000 per day.

That number is up 47%from a week earlier, and up 65% from two weeks earlier. Christmas disruptions and limited access to testing mean the real number is likely worse.

New case records were set in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Puerto Rico.

Mike Stucka, USA TODAY

The latest wave of COVID-19 is pounding hospitals in some parts of the country, according to Department of Health and Human Services data reported Sunday.Washington, D.C., reported 77% more COVID-19 patients in hospital beds, and 42% more in intensive-care beds, than a week earlier.Florida's hospital admissions are up 64%. Hawaii's are up 44%.

And in Louisiana, COVID-19 hospitalizations doubled in the last week.The Louisiana Department of Health said449 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Sunday. That's the highest since mid-October, whichat the time was the state's worst surge.Statewide, 80%of peoplehospitalized with COVID-19 are not fully vaccinated, the health department reported.

But the wave is moving unevenly across the country.Nearly half of the states report lower COVID-19 admissions and fewer people in ICU beds.

COVID-19 cases are continuing to emerge on cruise ships.Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International and MSC Cruises are among the companiesdealing with clusters of cases on board, spurringitinerary changesand protocols to mitigate spread.

The CDC has been working with global public health experts andindustry partners to learn about omicron, spokesperson Dave Daigle told USA TODAY last week. "We are still learning how easily it spreads, the severity of illness it causes, and how well available vaccines and medications work against it," he said.

The likelihood of contracting the coronavirus on a cruise is "high because the virus spreads easily between people in close quarters aboard ships," Daigle said.

MSC Seashore, which was scheduled to disembark passengers Thursday, sailed with 28 passengers who tested positive for COVID-19.TheCDC is investigatingRoyal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seasship as it sails with more than 50 cases of coronavirus onboard.

Morgan Hines, USA TODAY

Testing positive for COVID-19 starts a confusing, disruptive and at times frightening process one that millions of Americans will likely go through in the coming week.

First, you need to isolate. Thats a more intense version of quarantining it means cutting off contact with other people as much as possibleso you reduce the chanceof infecting them. Thisalso means forgoing travel, not going to work and even limiting contact with people in your own household who aren't infected.

The CDC says isolating is a necessary step whether youre vaccinated or unvaccinated, and whether you havesymptoms or feelfine.

Everyone who tests positive for COVID-19 should monitor their symptoms. And people who are unvaccinated or at high risk for severe disease should be extra-vigilant for symptoms that might require emergency care. Call your doctor for early treatment options.

How long should you isolate? How long will I be contagious?What if you are a close contact with someone who tested positive?Hereswhat you should know about omicron and COVID this holiday season.

Contributing: The Associated Press

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Planning a big New Year's Eve party? 'Stay away from that this year,' Fauci warns; Biden vows better testing: Latest COVID-19 updates - USA TODAY