that with the unvaccinated, so, it really is just a second surge right on top of the last one. reporter: but tonight, there are signs of hope in some places first hit by omicron. new york city, the first up by center for the variant, now seeing cases dip 17% since january 1st. our stephanie ramos is in nearby new jersey where they are seeing it first-hand. i d like to think that we are just at the crest of this omicron surge. the numbers are starting to look a little bit better. reporter: this, as the cdc is reportedly considering updating its mask guidance, according to the washington post, to recommend n-95 or kn-95 masks over cloth masks. studies conducted before the omicron variant estimated for two people wearing cloth masks, it can take about half an hour to spread the virus from an infected person to an uninfected person in the same room. if they are both wearing surgical masks, it can take about an hour. but if they re both wearing n-95 masks, it can take about 25 hours