Pritzker sounds alarm over new variant

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker wears a face mask made of a fabric with baseballs printed on it during his daily press briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic held in his office at the Illinois State Capitol, Thursday, May 21, 2020, in Springfield, Ill. (Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register via AP, Pool)

As the lives of Illinoisans appear to be getting back to normal post-pandemic, the governor is sounding the alarm over a new omicron variant. State health officials say the BA.2 COVID-19 omicron variant is more contagious than other strains of the virus and accounts for about 25% of the cases in Illinois.

The governor said the state replenished its stockpile of medical supplies, and it has more than 1.5 million rapid tests with more on the way. Pritzker also called on schools to determine how much testing they can do and to prepare if there is another surge.

Chief White House medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Sunday that he does not think the U.S. will see another surge in COVID-19 cases due to the new variant. When asked by ABC News if there was any reason to reverse the relaxation of pandemic restrictions that has taken place in the past month, Fauci said not right now.