No More Lockdowns

Omicron is spreading: Officials confirmed the first case in the United States on Wednesday. Yet there are also signs it may not be as harmful as some feared. Which means this is no time for drastic new restrictions, particularly like those imposed at the height of the pandemic.

On Tuesday, a World Health Organization official said Omicron cases so far have been “mild,” and there’s no evidence vaccines won’t be effective against serious illness from the new strain.

Doctors in South Africa, which has seen a rise in Omicron infections, say patients there show milder symptoms than from previous strains. In Botswana, where the new variant is thought to have originated, 16 of 19 confirmed cases (84 percent) were asymptomatic.

And in Israel, officials say a Pfizer booster provides up to 90 percent protection against severe illness from Omicron. Other drugmakers are hopeful they can tweak their own boosters within months.

Meanwhile, the world should know by now the severe cost — both economically and in terms of public health — of imposing broad-based lockdowns and tough restrictions. The COVID lockdowns over the past 18 months led to countless businesses closing, supply-chains jamming, kids (needlessly) falling behind in school, social lives wrecked, suicides rising . . . It was a mistake we can’t afford to repeat.

Officials say it’ll take another couple of weeks to get a better fix on Omicron — its

infectiousness, how well the vaccines do against it, its lethality and what it’ll take to beat it. Scientists note that Omicron contains far more mutations than other strains, so there’s certainly, as President Biden said, cause for “concern.”

That’s why we supported a ban on travel from worrisome countries when Omicron emerged, at a time when little was known about it. Trouble is, some officials — weak-kneed Democrats, in particular, who mistake broad lockdowns for leadership — may be inclined to ratchet up restrictions once again. Mayor de Blasio, for instance, was quick to urge indoor maskwearing, and Gov. Hochul declared a state of emergency.

But panicking can be deadly, too: If lockdowns are the “cure” for Omicron, you can bet they’ll be worse than the disease.