Lockdowns, school closures unlikely despite omicron wave, experts say

Dr. Jeff Duchin, the public health officer of Seattle and King County, Washington, has become accustomed to delivering bad news.

King County has been among the country’s most aggressive with pandemic restrictions, from stay-at-home orders to closures of restaurants and bars. 

But at a press conference Friday about how Covid-19 cases could soon reach new heights, Duchin had no such announcements of mandatory restrictions — only a warning about the new omicron variant.

“It’s real,” he said. “It’s here, and it’s moving fast.”

Duchin said a wave of omicron infections could...