With the Biden administration scampering to handle the swathe of new COVID-19 cases fuelled by the Omicron variant, the US on Wednesday evening reached the highest level on record as far as new infections are concerned.
Standing over 265,000 per day on average, new cases have soared to an all-new record-breaking number, a year after the vaccine rollout. Due to this massive rise in infections, several public events surrounding the holidays have been canceled or curbed with limits.
Source: Center for Disaster Philanthropy (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Amouris Coss)
Speaking about smaller gatherings, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, said Wednesday that there is no need to cancel small home get-togethers among vaccinated and boosted family and friends. But “if your plans are to go to a 40- to 50-person New Year’s Eve party with all the bells and whistles and everybody hugging and kissing and wishing each other a happy new year, I would strongly recommend that this year we not do that,” he said.
According to data, the number of Americans now in the hospital with COVID-19 is running at around 60,000, or about half the figure seen in January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. have climbed over the past two weeks from an average of 1,200 per day to around 1,500.
Meanwhile, the WHO has reported that new COVID-19 cases worldwide increased 11% last week from the week before, with nearly 4.99 million recorded Dec. 20-26.
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