Gov. Kathy Hochul has declared a state of emergency as news of the omicron COVID-19 variant emerges.

As of Sunday, health officials say there is no sign of the variant in New York. However, the governor says it's coming.

The goal of the state of emergency is to boost hospital capacity and solve staffing shortages ahead of an expected spike in COVID-19 cases. The department of health can limit non-urgent procedures in hospitals with limited capacity. Hochul defines this as below 10% staffed bed capacity or as determined by the health department.

The executive order also enables New York state to receive supplies to combat the virus more quickly. It goes into effect Friday and will be reassessed in January.

Hochul says the state is focused on getting more people vaccinated, especially kids in school, age 5 to 17 years old, who can get the Pfizer vaccine. She says the state is working on expanding vaccine access and testing sites. As of Friday, more than 90% of adults in the state had at least one dose of the vaccine.

On Sunday, Hochul sent a tweet saying that all nursing homes across the state now must have booster vaccines available for all residents.