Daily Average Hospitalized Patients Also Increase to 70,000
Omicron Share Exceeds 70%...Spread Intensifies
[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] As the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant intensifies in the United States, the average daily new cases during weekdays have surpassed 200,000 again for the first time in a year. With the rapid spread, severe cases, especially among the unvaccinated, have also increased significantly, causing health authorities to be on high alert. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and a U.S. infectious disease expert, warned that complacency should be avoided just because Omicron is perceived as less severe.
According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 26th (local time), as of Christmas Day on the 25th, the average daily new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. over the past seven days surged by 69% in two weeks to 201,330. NYT reported that the U.S. weekday average daily new cases surpassing 200,000 is the first time in 11 months since January 19 this year, when it recorded 201,953 cases.
The daily number of cases in the U.S., which had decreased to the 70,000 range at the end of last month, has continued to surge, surpassing 260,000 on the 23rd. As cases rapidly increase, the number of hospitalized patients and deaths has also risen. As of the 25th, the seven-day average daily hospitalizations increased by 9% compared to two weeks ago, reaching 70,950, and the average daily deaths rose by 4% to 1,345.
This is analyzed to be due to the Omicron variant establishing itself as the dominant strain in the U.S., causing the number of cases to increase exponentially. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of the 4th of this month, the Delta variant accounted for 99.3% of total cases, while Omicron accounted for only 0.7%. However, by the 18th of this month, Delta dropped to 26.6%, and Omicron rose to 73.2%, reversing the proportions. In some regions, the proportion of Omicron infections is reported to exceed 90%.
U.S. health authorities are also warning that even if Omicron symptoms are less severe than those of Delta, the severity of its spread requires vigilance. Fauci appeared on ABC News on the same day and said, "We should not be complacent just because the probability of hospitalization for Omicron variant infections is lower than for Delta variant infections," warning that "if the number of confirmed cases increases much more than now, the positive effects could be offset." He added, "Last week, the average daily COVID-19 cases were 150,000, and it will increase much more in the future," emphasizing that "a fourth vaccination may be necessary."
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