From the published decree of the governor of the state, it follows that the pandemic in the region is spreading at a speed "unseen since April 2020."

The hospitalization rate has risen to 300 cases per day in the past month.

“Given that the state must take a coordinated approach to ensure the capacity of hospitals ... I declare a state of emergency throughout the state of New York until January 15, 2022,” reads the text of the document.

It is noted that the health department is empowered to restrict the provision of non-serious and non-urgent procedures in medical institutions in order to maintain access to patients with higher priority cases.

The decree comes into force on December 3.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said earlier that after the discovery in Israel of the first case of a new strain of coronavirus, the country is "on the verge of a state of emergency."

On November 25, it became known that scientists have identified a new strain of coronavirus in Botswana, South Africa and Hong Kong, which could potentially become the most dangerous.

Later it was designated by the Greek letter "omicron".

Kirill Masliev, head of preventive medicine at EMC, founder of the Heroi Foundation for the Support of Medical Workers, Ph.D.