<Anchor> In the



United States, there is growing concern that the nightmare in the early stages of the corona outbreak may be revived due to a cluster infection on a large cruise ship carrying 6,000 people. Meanwhile, New York City is considering canceling the New Year's celebrations, and Washington, DC has declared a citywide state of emergency



. Correspondent Yunsu Kim from Washington.



<Reporter> On



the 18th, a person infected with Corona 19 was found on the world's largest cruise ship 'Symphony of the Seas', which was operating near the Caribbean Sea with 6,000 passengers and crew on board.



As a result of follow-up examinations by the airline, 48 of the passengers were confirmed positive.



Most of those infected were asymptomatic or showed mild symptoms.



It is said that 98% of the infected people broke through while receiving the vaccine.



The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started genetic analysis to determine whether Omicron infection was present.



[Raynor/US Professor George Washington University: A tsunami is coming. Omicron mutations are incredibly contagious. This virus is perhaps the most infective virus the world has ever experienced.]



New York City is considering canceling Times Square New Year's Eve events as Omicron explodes doubling in two or three days.



This is because of concerns that a mega event with over 1 million people from all over the world could become a super-spreading event.



[De Blasio/New York Mayor: (Canceling the New Year's event) We'll make a decision before Christmas.

We anticipate that the number of coronavirus cases will be significantly higher than before in the coming weeks.]



Omicron has spread to 45 states in the United States, and Washington DC has declared a state of emergency, including re-mandating face masks across the city.