US faces a double coronavirus surge as omicron advances

By LAURA UNGAR and CARLA K. JOHNSON
Associated Press

The new omicron coronavirus mutant speeding around the world may bring another wave of chaos, as it threatens to further stretch hospital workers already struggling with a surge of delta cases and upend holiday plans for the second year in a row. Omicron, even if it proves milder on the whole, may disarm some of the life-saving tools available and put immune-compromised and elderly people at particular risk as it begins a rapid assault on the United States. Most likely, experts say, an omicron surge is already under way in the United States as its spread outpaces the nation’s ability to track it.