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Transcript/ScriptWashington Week Ahead
HEADLINE: Omicron Rages Ahead of US Schools Reopening
TEASER: Latest coronavirus mutation also causes thousands of flight delays and cancelations, as American schoolchildren prepare to return to class
PUBLISHED AT: Sunday, 01/02/2022 at 2:11 pm
BYLINE: Arash Arabasadi
DATELINE: Washington
PRODUCER: Arash Arabasadi
SCRIPT EDITORS: caw, Bowman, SR
VIDEO SOURCE (S): REUTERS/ WLS/ ABC “THIS WEEK”/ AP/ NEW YORK CITY OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO X
TRT: 2:01
VID APPROVED BY: Bowman
TYPE: TVPKG/RADIO
EDITOR NOTES: **PART NO ARCHIVE**))
((INTRO))
[[The fifth wave of the coronavirus pandemic continues moving across the world, infecting the unvaccinated and vaccinated alike. The newest variant, omicron, has already led to thousands of flight cancelations in the United States in the new year. U.S. President Joe Biden has promised the availability of half a billion rapid tests as American schoolchildren return to class. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more.]]
((VAR, O’HARE AIRPORT, CHICAGO, REUTERS/WLS, 01/01))
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((NARRATOR))
More than 92-hundred US domestic and international flights were delayed or canceled on New Year’s Day due to bad weather and surging cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. That’s according to the flight-tracking website, Flight Aware dot com. By Sunday, another 22-hundred flights met the same fate. Chicago’s O’Hare Airport was packed.
[RADIO TRACK: Sylvia Robinson, a traveler from Houston, Texas, spoke with Reuters and ABC affiliate, WLS.]
((REUTERS))
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((Sylvia Robinson, Traveler from Houston))
“Last year, I was traveling and there was no one here, which was kind of eerie. So, I like to see the people, but this is a lot of people.”
((VAR, O’HARE AIRPORT, CHICAGO, REUTERS/WLS, 01/01))
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((NARRATOR))
While the omicron variant appears less likely to cause severe illness, U.S. President Joe Biden’s chief medical advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warns spiking infections threaten the entire health care system.
[RADIO TRACK: Fauci spoke Sunday on ABC’s “This Week”.]
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((Dr. Anthony Fauci, Top US Infectious Disease Expert))
“Even if you have a lesser percentage of severity, when you have multi, multi, multifold [more] people getting infected, the net amount is you’re still going to get a lot of people that are going to be needing hospitalization, and that’s the reason we’re concerned about stressing and straining the hospital system.”
((VAR, KIDS/COVID/JABS, REUTERS, NO RESTRICTIONS))
((NARRATOR))
As schoolchildren in the U.S. return to classes this week, Fauci’s message remains clear.
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((mandatory ABC “This Week”))
((Dr. Anthony Fauci, Top US Infectious Disease Expert))
“I plead with parents to please seriously consider vaccinating your children, wearing masks in the school setting, doing tests-to-stay [in school] approaches [to contain the virus] when children get infected. I think all of those things put together, it’s safe enough to get those kids back to school.”
((VAR, NYC MAYOR, ERIC ADAMS, AP/NYCOTM, 01/01))
((mandatory cg NEW YORK CITY OFFICE OF THE MAYOR))
((NARRATOR))
New York City’s new mayor, Eric Adams, who was sworn in on Saturday, tells ABC’s “This Week” that the nation’s biggest city is ready for school to restart.
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((Mayor Eric Adams, New York City))
“We’re going to create a safe environment with testing. We’re going to identify the children that are exposed. We’re going to remove them from that environment. The numbers show the mere fact that a child is exposed in a classroom does not mean that entire classroom is exposed.”
((VAR, NYC MAYOR, ERIC ADAMS, AP/NYCOTM, 01/01))
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((NARRATOR))
Adams takes office as New York City grapples with record numbers of cases driven by the omicron variant. Classes resume Monday there and around the country.
((Arash Arabasadi, VOA News))
NewsML Media TopicsPolitics
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateJanuary 24, 2022 14:17 EST
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English