Lisa Shumaker and Joseph Ax

(Reuters) – The United States has reported nearly 1,000,000 new cases of coronavirus on Monday. This is almost double the peak number of 505,109 that was set just a week earlier. Omicron, a highly contagious variant, shows no signs of slowing down.

A Reuters analysis revealed that the number of COVID-19-infected patients in hospital has increased nearly 50% over the past week to more than 100,000. This is the highest level since the winter surge a decade ago.

Overall, the United States https://tmsnrt.rs/2WTOZDR has seen a daily average of 486,000 cases over the last week, a rate that has doubled in seven days and far outstrips that of any other country https://tmsnrt.rs/34pvUyi. This Monday’s record includes cases that occurred on Saturday or Sunday. Many states don’t report them.

According to a Reuters tally the average death per day has remained relatively steady through December and January, at around 1,300. However, deaths often lag behind hospitalizations and cases.

Omicron is appears to be far more easily transmitted than previous iterations of the virus, though the World Health Organization said on Tuesday https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/who-sees-more-evidence-that-omicron-affects-upper-respiratory-tract-2022-01-04 that evidence thus far suggests the variant is causing less severe illness.

However, Omicron caseloads are threatening to overwhelm many hospitals.

In the last few days, Washington, D.C., Illinois, Maryland, Ohio, and Ohio have all reported records for COVID hospitalizations.

Burbio, which tracks disruptions to schools, reports that more than 3,200 schools were forced to close this week by the relentless surge. The schools that remain open face staff shortages, and new concerns over virus spreading.

The Superintendent of Schools Brenda Cassellius stated that there were 1000 staff in Boston on Tuesday after the holiday break. This included 461 teachers as well 52 bus drivers.

She said, “It makes for a difficult beginning to the day.”

Chicago teachers union protested Monday’s school return. It said that stricter protocol such as testing is needed in Chicago. Teachers will vote on Tuesday about whether they favor working remotely from Wednesday.

Biden has emphasized the need for boosters and vaccinations in order to guard against serious infections.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday recommended https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-cdc-endorses-five-month-gap-pfizers-covid-19-booster-dose-2022-01-04 shortening the interval between Pfizer-BioNTech’s second COVID-19 vaccine dose and the booster shot to five months from six, a day after the Food and Drug Administration made a similar move.