COVID-19: The number of newly diagnosed cases in the United States and France in a single day both set new records-BBC News

France reported 179,807 new infections on Tuesday (December 28) local time. Health Minister Olivier Véran warned earlier that “all signs indicate” that by the beginning of January, France will have as many as 250,000 new confirmed cases in a single day.

However, in the United States, a CDC spokesperson told the news website Politico that the relevant single-day figure may be an “overestimation” because the testing center was closed during the Christmas period and related reports were lagging behind. It also stated that the number of cases “will stabilize after the New Year.”

Italy, Greece, Portugal and England all reported record-breaking single-day new diagnoses on Tuesday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned in its weekly COVID-19 update report that the risk of the Omi Keron variant is “still very high.”

According to an updated report released on Tuesday, in the week before December 26, the number of new coronavirus infections of various strains increased by 57% in Europe and 30% in the Americas.

Studies have shown that the Omi Keron variant is milder than the Delta variant, and the chance of an infected person needing to be admitted to the hospital is also 30% to 70% lower. But people are still worried that the high number of infections caused by this highly contagious variant is enough to make hospitals unable to cope.

The CDC’s data tracking system in the United States shows that the number of cases on December 27 increased by 441,278, which is much higher than the single-day number of confirmed diagnoses previously recorded by the agency. US media reported that the current seven-day average number of new infections is the highest since January 2021.

However, officials of the agency also revised the spread of Omi Keron in the United States, saying that this variant accounted for 59% of all new cases, instead of the previously reported 73%.

Medical policy expert Scott Gottlieb said that new estimates may show that the “currently a considerable proportion of hospital admissions” in the United States are still caused by the delta variant virus.

At the same time, France also announced on Tuesday that the number of infections has risen sharply.

The French Hospital Federation stated that “the most difficult weeks are still to come”.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced a new restriction earlier this week, including mandatory work at home for at least three days a week for all positions permitted by the situation, until the beginning of January.

The country’s vaccine booster promotion is also making rapid progress. So far, more than 23 million people have received booster shots.

On Tuesday, other European countries reported new highs of new confirmed cases in a single day:

Many cities such as Paris, London and Berlin have cancelled official New Year celebrations, and some governments are less willing to adopt national restrictions.

The people of France and England are required to act with common sense, and the Spanish capital Madrid has stated that the celebration will be held as scheduled, but there is an upper limit on the number of people attending Puerta del Sol.

At the same time, Italy prohibits indoor activities and closes nightclubs, but does not impose restrictions on private parties.