Rubio criticizes 'irrational hysteria' over omicron

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Friday decried the public response to the wave of new COVID-19 cases due to omicron variant, writing on Twitter that it was an "irrational hysteria."

"Record numbers testing positive for a sore throat isn't a crisis And people in the hospital for car accidents testing positive isn't a surge," Rubio tweeted. "The real crisis is the irrational hysteria which has people with no symptoms waiting hours for a test or missing work for 10 days."

Rubio's tweet gets at some of the frustrations people are feeling about the coronavirus pandemic as it enters a third year.

The new highly contagious omicron variant has led to a sharp rise in cases with the United States hitting new daily records.

But data so far suggests most cases are not severe and there has not been a big spike in hospitalization numbers or deaths - at least so far.

Much of the country is also vaccinated, and while vaccinations do not prevent people from getting omicron, they are seen as greatly reducing the severity of the disease.

The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention this week shifted its guidelines, saying that asymptomatic people with COVID-19 can end their isolation after five days - instead of the 10 days previously recommended.

Government health officials have said the reason is in part to get people back to work.