minneola new york, also joining the conversation, dr. vin gupta, pulmonologist. cases are up in the northeast. how much of a jump are we talking about? give me the numbers. >> reporter: well, steph, in new york, covid cases overall are up by about 58% seasons thanksgiving. in new jersey, they're seeing hospitalizations up by about 25%, and in both states, officials are detecting omicron at rates much higher than they are nationally, and so that suggests there is serious transmission happening in this region, and all of this is also happening at an inconvenient moment in which there is extreme fatigue and frustration with the pandemic and with protocols around new york really. i'm in nassau county, the incoming county executive here says that he is not planning to enforce the governor's new mask or vax mandate and several executives have joined him in that. their public health departments are stretched thin focused on