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A world record number was registered on Monday, January 3 in the United States, where health authorities counted 1,082,549 new cases of coronavirus. The balance, confirmed by Johns Hopkins University, also indicates that 1,688 people died in 24 hours.
Such a figure had never been recorded since the start of the pandemic. The United States set a world record for Covid-19 infections on Monday, January 3, with 1,082,549 new cases.
The report, published by Johns Hopkins University, also recorded 1,688 deaths in 24 hours. The news came a day after Anthony Fauci, the White House medical adviser, warned that the increase in coronavirus cases in the United States was “almost vertical.”
“We are definitely in the middle of a very severe increase in cases,” said the epidemiologist during an interview for the television network ‘ABC’, adding that the rate of infection on the rise is “really unprecedented.”
Experts also point to the rise in infections among the younger population, since not even a third of minors between 5 and 17 years old, who are authorized to receive the vaccine, have the double vaccination schedule.
# COVID19 testing is a fast-growing field that is evolving.
Check out our COVID-19 Testing Toolkit for more information about specific tests and testing services: https://t.co/UB0n6V0fLY
– Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security (@JHSPH_CHS) January 3, 2022
“Virtually all, not 100% but almost that number, of the children who are sick in a hospital with Covid-19 are children whose parents decided they did not want to be vaccinated. That is avoidable, ”Fauci said.
Several US states see an increase in hospitalizations
While the Omicron variant of Covid-19 is much more contagious, data suggests that it is less severe than previous versions of the coronavirus. To this, Fauci warned that hospitalizations could increase due to the rapidity with which it is spreading.
Since the start of the Christmas holidays, the number of hospitalized Covid-19 patients in the United States increased by 50% and hospitalizations are at 70% from the previous peak in January 2021, according to a tally by the Reuters news agency.
The states of Delaware, Maryland, Ohio, and Washington DC are registering more hospitalized patients than at any other point in the pandemic. Even the governors of Delaware and Ohio have sent National Guard troops to various hospitals to try to help logistically.
On the other hand, in New York City, schools reopened on Monday on the condition that all students be tested for Covid-19. So instead of quarantining an entire class if one person tests positive, as was done in 2021, all students will receive rapid tests at home for the next seven days.
One way to track #COVID burden on #NYC ERs is to track visits for influenza-like illness (fever + cough OR fever + sore throat). Interestingly, this wave * so far * has ER visits similar to pre-COVID flu wave in NYC in Dec ’19, lower than Jan ’18, & far higher than Dec ’20 COVID wave. https://t.co/wqNzzy4eeF pic.twitter.com/HYpwXkaw08
– Jay Varma (@DrJayVarma) January 2, 2022
To this, New York Mayor Eric Adams told parents not to “fear” while sending their children back to school. “The safest place for children is inside a school. The number of transmissions is low, “he said on Sunday in an interview for the television network ‘ABC’.
New rules for the start of the year
The omnipresence of Ómicron in the United States has caused the cancellation of thousands of flights in recent days. On Sunday, for example, more than 4,000 flights were canceled around the world, more than half of them in the United States. Added to this were travel interruptions due to adverse weather.
American transportation agencies also suspended or reduced services these days due to staff shortages.
The increase in cases for the Omicron variant has also caused some companies to change their plans. This is the case in the banking sector, where the rules have been tightened much more than in other areas. The Citigroup company asked its employees to work from home during the first weeks of 2022 and required that everyone be vaccinated.
Goldman Sachs is also encouraging its staff to work from home until January 18 and its offices will continue to be open with previously announced security protocols: mandatory vaccination and booster starting February 1, biweekly testing starting January 10 and Mandatory masks.
“With Omicron, it is clear that anxiety is starting to spiral out of control even further, in a sort of PTSD response, as people are flashing back to traumatic memories of the beginning of the pandemic.”https://t.co/bjuMduC9tQ
– Apoorva Mandavilli (@apoorva_nyc) January 3, 2022
The Omicron variant continues to spread across the United States, although authorities insist it is less severe than the Delta variant.
For now, 62% of the country’s population has received the full vaccination schedule, while 33% already have the booster dose.
This Tuesday, US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are expected to meet with the White House team of medical advisers to discuss the situation at the beginning of the year.
The United States is the country most affected by the pandemic worldwide, with more than 825,000 deaths since the start of the health crisis in early 2020.
With Reuters, AFP, EFE and local media
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