WASHINGTON, Dec. 29 (BUS): More than a year after the vaccine was introduced, new cases of COVID-19 in the United States have risen to an all-time high of more than 265,000 cases per day on average, an increase driven largely by Large omicron variant is highly contagious.
Daily new cases have more than doubled over the past two weeks, surpassing the old mark of 250,000, which was set in mid-January, according to data maintained by Johns Hopkins University, according to the Associated Press.
The rapidly spreading mutant version of the virus has cast a pall over Christmas and New Year’s, forcing communities to scale back or cancel their festivities just weeks after Americans are about to enjoy an almost normal holiday season. Thousands of flights have been canceled amid a staff shortage blamed on the virus.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease expert, said Wednesday that there is no need to cancel small home gatherings between vaccinated and boosted family members and friends.
The picture is bleak elsewhere around the world, particularly in Europe, where WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was concerned about combining Omicron with a delta variant to produce a “tsunami” of cases. This would put “tremendous pressure on overworked health workers and health systems on the verge of collapse,” he said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the number of Americans now in hospital with COVID-19 is about 60,000, or about half the number seen in January.
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