Omicron updates: COVID outbreak reported on cruise ship docking in New Orleans

President Joe Biden stressed Monday that the omicron variant is a "cause for concern, not a cause for panic."

"We'll fight this variant with scientific and knowledgeable actions and speed -- not chaos and confusion," Biden said. "We have more tools today to fight the variant than we ever had before, from vaccines to boosters to vaccines for children."

If updated vaccines are needed to fight omicron, "we will accelerate their development and deployment with every available tool," Biden said.

"I want to reiterate Dr. [Anthony] Fauci believes that the current vaccines provide at least some protection" against omicron, "and the booster strengthens that protection significantly," Biden said.

"We do not yet believe that additional measures will be needed," Biden said, but his administration is working with Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson to develop plans in case.

"Sooner or later" omicron will be in the U.S., the president said.

Biden said his team will release a detailed strategy outlining the fight against COVID-19 this winter. He said there won't be lockdowns and instead is promoting vaccinations, boosters and testing.

The president said "we need to do more than vaccinate Americans," adding, "We have to vaccinate the world, as well."

"We ship for free, more vaccines to other countries than all other countries in the world combined. ... Now, we need the rest of the world to step up," he said.

Biden again emphasized that the best protection is getting vaccinated and urged any adults who were fully vaccinated before June 1 to go get a booster immediately. He also asked Americans to wear masks indoors.

New York City officials reinstated a mask advisory on Monday, “strongly recommending” all residents, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks inside public settings.

Public settings include grocery stores, building lobbies and offices, said Dr. Dave Chokshi, commissioner of the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

"Masks are still required for everyone in public transit, health care settings, schools and congregate settings," he added.

The omicron variant will likely be detected in New York City in the coming days, Chokshi said.

Health officials are "very, very carefully" monitoring the variant, said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

-ABC News' Aaron Katersky, Brian Hartman, Arielle Mitropoulos

The White House’s Office of Management and Budget is telling federal agencies they should hold off on suspending or firing federal workers for not complying with the vaccine mandate until after the holidays, according to a memo obtained by ABC News. 

This change, which has not yet been publicly announced, comes as President Joe Biden is putting pressure on private employers to embrace their own vaccine mandates. 

Ninety-two percent of federal workers have already had at least one vaccine dose, according to the Office of Management and Budget. The federal workforce's compliance rate stands at 96.5%, meaning employees have had at least one vaccine dose or have a pending or approved exception or extension request.

-ABC News' Anne Flaherty

Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University's School of Public Health, told NBC's "Today" on Monday that he assumes omicron is already in the United States and predicts the new variant be identified in the next few days.

But Jha said he believes it's "extremely unlikely" that omicron would completely evade vaccines.

"I think that our vaccines will hold up -- the question is … is it a little bit less effective? A lot less effective? We will have that data -- both laboratory data and clinical data -- in the next week or two at the most," Jha said.

"I wouldn't make any major changes to plans" for the holidays yet, he continued. "I would just wait and make sure you're vaccinated and everybody around you is vaccinated."

"If you're fully vaccinated -- and especially if you're boosted -- you're going to have more protection against this variant," he said.

-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett