The CDC now says the rapid spread of the Omicron variant is not as bad as they originally thought.

According to federal health officials, Omicron is responsible for 58.6% of new cases nationwide last week. That's down from the previous estimate of 73.2%.

They say the reduction is based on the study of new data.

Meanwhile, cases across the state continue to surge.

The latest numbers show nearly 41,000 people tested positive in New York. In addition, 647 more people are in the hospital bringing the total number of hospitalizations to over 6,000.

To put that number into perspective, it is still about 1,600 less than a year ago.