On Tuesday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) released a statement warning about the “danger of Omicron,” despite data on Omicron suggesting it is much less severe than previous variants of COVID-19
“California is now seeing nearly 15,000 new Covid-19 cases every day, a five-fold growth in just one month. And hotspots like Los Angeles are seeing even faster spread, with new cases up 450 percent in just two weeks,” Feinstein said. “Those numbers are expected to climb – experts warn that infections and hospitalizations could increase dramatically following holiday travel and family gatherings.”
“I can’t stress enough the need to wear masks and avoid large public gatherings as this disease once again surges. It’s critical that we continue to follow public health guidelines, which we know help limit transmission of this disease,” she continued. “For those who haven’t been vaccinated or received a booster shot, the time to act is now. With the rapid increase in cases, the potential to become infected and further spread the omicron variant is incredibly high. Two-thirds of Californians are fully vaccinated, but that number needs to rise.”
Feinstein then admitted that California is facing far less deaths from COVID-19 than before, even though the number of active COVID-19 cases is at its highest ever.
“Around 50 Californians are dying every day from Covid-19. While that number is a fraction of the more than 500 daily deaths at the peak of this disease, it’s still far too many. And the number could easily skyrocket in coming weeks if precautions aren’t followed. Please do all you can to keep yourself and others safe,” Feinstein said.
Feinstein’s claims come after multiple studies have shown that the Omicron variant is up to 80% less likely to result in hospitalization than previous variants.
According to researchers at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine (IHME), over 90% of Omicron cases could be asymptomatic – far more than the 40% of cases that were asymptomatic in previous variants.
