[Epoch Times January 4, 2022](Epoch Times reporter Chen Ting comprehensive report) Omicron variants continue to spread in the United States. As most states worked hard to clear the backlog after the end of the New Year holiday, on Monday (January 3), the United States reported a record 1.08 million new Covid-19 infections.
According to case statistics from Johns Hopkins University, 1,083,948 new cases were confirmed in the United States on Monday. According to the Wall Street Journal’s analysis of Johns Hopkins University data, the average number of new infections in seven days has pushed up to 480,273, almost twice the peak of the surge in cases last winter. This wave of tsunami-like infections was driven by the highly infectious Omicron variant. This data is the current global high.
The number of cases reported in the United States on Monday does not include data from six states, which either did not publish daily reports or did not restore electricity after a power outage during the holiday. Georgia stated that it did not report on Monday due to “a large amount of data overwhelming the system.”
According to data from Johns Hopkins University, on Monday, the 7-day average of the number of Covid-19 deaths reported daily in the United States was 1,236. In recent weeks, this average has remained relatively unchanged. Death reports are often three to five weeks behind case reports, so the death toll caused by the surge in Omicron may not appear in the report until late January.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that in the week ending January 1, approximately 95% of Covid-19 infections in the United States were caused by Omicron. The CDC estimates that in the week ending December 25, 77% of infections were caused by Omicron. In the week ending December 18, this variant caused 38% of infections.
According to data released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, on Tuesday, the number of confirmed or suspected Covid-19 cases hospitalized in the U.S. reached a seven-day average of 105,138 people. An increase of 51% in the past two weeks, but below the peak of the pandemic of 137,510 people on January 10, 2021.
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Bloomberg pointed out that at the peak of the Delta variant epidemic, the highest number of diagnoses in a single day in the world was reported by India on May 7, 2021, when more than 414,000 people were notified of the diagnosis.
Although the number of cases has increased rapidly and has not led to a surge in the number of severe illnesses and deaths, as the infected people are quarantined at home, the impact has been manifested across the United States, including the cancellation of flights, the closure of schools and offices, the overwhelming of hospitals, and the loss of supply chains. Forced interruption and so on.
The rapid rise of the epidemic has also caused many companies to postpone the steps of returning to the office. Companies like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase have adopted a prudent approach to encourage employees to resume home work at the beginning of the new year.
Fortunately, based on early research results, although the Omicron variant seems to spread faster than other strains, it causes milder symptoms.
Experts said that as more real-world data emerge in the coming weeks, it can be determined whether the death rate of Omicron virus infection will rise with the surge in cases, which can further predict the outlook for the epidemic in 2022.
Editor in charge: Ye Ziwei#
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