A Dark Record, The US Reports Nearly 1 Million Cases Of COVID-19 Infection A Day Due To The Omicron Variant

JAKARTA - The United States (US) recorded a global record of nearly 1 million reported new coronavirus infections on Monday, according to a Reuters tally, nearly double the peak of 505,109 the country hit a week ago, as the highly contagious Omicron variant did not show any signs of infection. signs of slowing down.

The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients has increased by nearly 50 percent in the past week and now exceeds 100,000, a Reuters analysis showed, the first time that threshold was reached since the winter wave a year ago.

Overall, the United States has seen a daily average of 486,000 cases over the past week, a rate that has doubled in seven days and far surpasses any other country. The 978,856 new infections on Monday included several cases from Saturday and Sunday when many states were underreporting.

The median US death toll per day has remained fairly steady throughout December and into early January at around 1,300, according to a Reuters tally, although deaths typically lag behind cases and hospitalizations.

The Omicron variant appears to be much more transmissible than previous iterations of the virus. That variant is estimated to account for 95.4 percent of the coronavirus cases identified in the United States on January 1, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, the evidence so far suggests Omicron causes less severe disease. However, public health officials have warned that the sheer number of Omicron cases threatens to overwhelm hospitals, some of which are already struggling to deal with the influx of COVID-19 patients, especially among the unvaccinated.

Maryland Governor, Larry Hogan, declared a 30-day state of emergency on Tuesday and mobilized 1,000 National Guard members for pandemic response operations as COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state hit a record high of more than 3,000. That's an increase of more than 500 percent in the last seven weeks, Hogan said.

"The truth is, the next four to six weeks are going to be the most challenging of the entire pandemic", Hogan told reporters.

"Our latest projections today suggest that COVID hospitalizations could reach over 5,000, which will be more than 250% higher than our previous peak of 1,952 last year", he said.

Delaware, Illinois, Ohio, and Washington, DC, have also reported record numbers of hospitalized COVID patients in recent days.

The unrelenting surge has prompted more than 3,200 schools to close their buildings this week, according to Burbio, a website that tracks school disruptions. Schools that remain open face staff shortages and renewed concerns about the spread of the virus.

In Boston, where more than 54,000 students returned to class on Tuesday after the holidays, School Superintendent Brenda Cassellius told reporters there were 1,000 staff members out, including 461 teachers and 52 bus drivers.

"It did make for a tough start to the day", he said.

Meanwhile in Chicago, the teachers' union objected to the return of schools on Monday, saying the district needed stricter protocols as testing required. Teachers are expected to vote on Tuesday whether they support working remotely starting Wednesday.

To note, President Joe Biden's Administration continues to emphasize widespread vaccination and boosters, as the best way to protect against severe disease.

The CDC on Tuesday recommended shortening the interval between Pfizer-BioNTech, a second COVID-19 vaccine dose, and a booster shot to five months from six, a day after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made a similar move.