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The U.S. reported 1.35 Million new cases of COVID-19 on Monday this was the highest daily count of any country during the pandemic.
The U.S. set the previous record of 1 million cases on Jan. 3. (A significant portion of cases are reported on Mondays since many states don’t offer updates during the weekend as per Reuters.
Yet, the average 7-day time for new cases has now surpassed 700,000, doubling in two weeks as the contagious Omicron variant continues to spread across the nation.
The daily count of new cases occurred one day after the U.S. crossed the grim milestone of 60 million COVID-19 cases in the epidemic, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University. More than 11 million new cases were reported in the past 28 days, with 5 million cases reported in the month of January. 2.
Globally there are more than 310 million cases have been identified, resulting in almost 5.5 million deaths from COVID-19. Nearly 40 million cases have been confirmed globally in the last month. The United States is responsible for 28% of the cases..
Texas became the second state to report more than 5 million cases since the pandemic began, which was behind California’s total of 6 million cases. Florida has reported more than 4.6 million cases, while New York has reported more than 4.1 million.
The U.S. has also hit an all-time high in hospitalizations, with nearly 146,000 COVID-19 patients being treated in hospitals across the country, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The January 2021 report had 142,000 hospitalizations.
According to to CNN the hospitalizations of Tuesday were more than double the amount of hospitalizations that occurred two weeks ago. Nationally 78% of the inpatient beds are used and 21% are used by COVID-19 patients.
Deaths are averaging about 1,700 per day, Reuters reported, which is up from 1,400 in the past few days, but not much more than earlier in the winter. The peak average daily death rate was 3,400 in mid-January 2021.
Hospitals are under pressure due to the rising instances of hospitalizations and illnesses across the nation. On Monday, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency following the increase of intensive care unit hospitalizations more than doubled since Dec. 1, CNN reported. This allows hospitals to increase their bed capacity, employ Telehealth services and be more flexible with the staffing.
CNN reported that Texas is currently recruiting at least 2,700 medical personnel to assist in the surge. Kentucky has mobilized its National Guard to support the effort.
“Omicron continues to destroy the commonwealth throughout the commonwealth, achieving levels never before seen,” Kentucky Gov. Omicron is more infectious than even the Delta variant,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear stated Monday in a press conference
Kentucky has seen the highest weekly number of cases this week, and it has the highest percentage of positive results at 26%. Beshear said that the state is down to 134 adult ICU beds.
“If it continues to grow at the rate we are witnessing, it is going to fill our hospitals,” he said.
Sources
Reuters: “U.S. reports 1.35 million COVID-19 cases one day, breaking record across the world.”
Johns Hopkins University: “COVID-19 Dashboard.”
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: “Inpatient Bed Utilization by the State.”
CNN: HHS data shows record-breaking numbers of hospitalizations for Covid-19
Kentucky Office of Governor: “Gov. Beshear: State Reports Highest Week Ever for New COVID-19 Cases.”
