parts of the midwest, the south, and the northeast. new york setting a record for new cases for the third day in a row on sunday. new york city, an early epicenter of the pandemic, seeing a spike in cases officials say is being driven by omicron. >> we have to move faster. that's why we're focusing even more on vaccination, and we do know that vaccination helps address omicron. >> reporter: still undecided on whether crowds will fill times square for new year's eve. as new covid infections have upended the worlds of sports, entertainment, and education in recent days, forcing "saturday night live" to cancel its live studio audience. the nba, nhl, and nfl also postponing games due to covid issues, and schools like harvard university moving graduate and professional schools to online classes for the first three weeks of january. covid striking maryland governor larry hogan and members of congress with massachusetts senator elizabeth warren, new jersey senator cory booker, and colorado congressman jason crow