storm phenomena here. come middle of january, this viral blizzard i ve talked about, we are going to see 20%, 30% of health care workers getting infected, who will be off of work. the health care system right now is already stretched to the point of breaking. reporter: according to the cdc, omicron accounts for 73% of new coronavirus cases for the week ending december 18. in new york, the state broke its record for the fourth consecutive day, for the highest number of new covid-19 cases. this virus is a formidable opp opponent, and we don t know where it is going to end up. all of my experts here that i have been partnering with and learning from is telling us there s a great level of uncertainty. reporter: in light of the new surge and all the uncertainty, new yorkers are rushing to testing sites ahead of holiday travel and family gatherings to respond to the growing demand. mayor de blasio says the city will be opening two dozen more testing sites by the end of the week, and sa