President Joe Biden called the new COVID-19 variant omicron a cause for concern but "not a cause for panic" Monday and said he was not considering any widespread U.S. lockdown.
While it is more easily transmitted, the Delta variant is not believed to result in more serious illness. More than 7% of the variants detected in New Jersey are now Delta. A week ago, it was about 5%.
New Jersey is seeing some of the lowest COVID-19 metrics since the start of the pandemic more than 15 months ago. Its an encouraging sign as we move into a summer season with few restrictions.