Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a Republican, lambasted the unwarranted panic over the rise in coronavirus infections as the omicron strain spreads.
“Record numbers testing positive for a sore throat isn’t a crisis. And people in the hospital for car accidents testing positive isn’t a surge. The real crisis is the irrational hysteria which has people with no symptoms waiting hours for a test or missing work for 10 days.” Rubio posted on Twitter on Friday.
Record numbers testing positive for a sore throat isn’t a crisis
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) December 31, 2021
And people in the hospital for car accidents testing positive isn’t a surge
The real crisis is the irrational hysteria which has people with no symptoms waiting hours for a test or missing work for 10 days
According to the New York Times, the average number of daily cases in the United States is now 386,920. Last week, Rubio’s home state of Florida set a new single-day record for total coronavirus infections, hitting 75,900 cases for the fourth time in seven days.
Thousands of people around the country have been tested for omicron since it was discovered during the holiday season. As the country struggles with a scarcity of at-home testing kits, Americans have voiced their displeasure with long lines and hours-long wait periods at testing centers.
Studies have found that the omicron form is less harmful to the lungs, nose, and throat than prior iterations, according to a study conducted by a consortium of American and Japanese specialists. A recent research from the United Kingdom found that People infected with omicron are also less likely to require hospitalization than those infected with the Delta type.
Despite the hoopla, Rubio tweeted later on New Year’s Eve that he was pleased to see the Orange Bowl stadium in the Miami region was filled.
