De Blasio On Omicron School, Business Shutdowns: 'No, No, No'

NEW YORK CITY — A growing explosion of COVID-19 cases driven by the omicron variant shouldn't cause shutdowns of New York City schools and businesses, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

"No, no, no," he said Friday to the suggestion.

De Blasio said shutdowns were a weapon of "yesterday's war" against the coronavirus. The city now has vaccinations and mass testing to fight the virus, he told WNYC's Brian Lehrer.

"This is not March of 2020," he said.

The city is gripped by fear and anxiety over spreading COVID-19 cases. Long lines have returned to testing sites and cases have grown to nearly 4,000 a day.

Jay Varma, a key health advisor to the mayor, recently highlighted a sharp uptick in COVID-19 positivity, which doubled to 7.8 percent in a three-day span. The omicron variant is to blame, he said.

"This is #SARSCoV2 evading both vaccine & virus induced immunity *against infection* unlike any variant before," he tweeted. "That's only explanation for dramatic jump in positivity."

But Varma also made clear that vaccinations, especially with boosters, still provide necessary protection against both infection and severe illness.

"Vaccinated + boosted = risk of infection," he tweeted. "Everyone else = much higher risk of infection, hospitalization, & death.

"If traffic is moving 90 mph, I’d rather get in an accident using a seatbelt & airbags than not."

Everything we know about #Omicron #Delta surge right now suggests:

Vaccinated + boosted = risk of infection

Everyone else = much higher risk of infection, hospitalization, & death

If traffic is moving 90 mph, I’d rather get in an accident using a seatbelt & airbags than not https://t.co/iRoXkffxoK
— Jay Varma (@DrJayVarma) December 17, 2021

De Blasio told Lehrer that vaccinations, especially boosters, will be a key strategy against the omicron variant. He said New Yorkers need to follow vaccination mandates, such as the private employer mandate taking effect Dec. 27.

"The more we vaccinate, the more we can get through this," he said. "And the great danger here is shutdowns and restrictions because that would really just destroy, in so many ways, people’s livelihoods."