U.S. reports 1.35 million COVID-19 cases in a day, shattering global record

The record in new cases came the same day as the nation saw the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients also hit an all-time high, having doubled in three weeks, according to a Reuters tally.

There were more than 136,604 people hospitalized with COVID-19, surpassing the record of 132,051 set in January last year.

While the Omicron variant is potentially less severe, health officials have warned that the sheer number of infections could strain hospital systems, some of which have already suspended elective procedures as they struggle to handle the increase in patients and staff shortages.

The surge in cases has disrupted schools, which are struggling with absences of staff, teachers and bus drivers.

More at source: Reuters

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U.S. reports over 1 million new daily Covid cases as omicron surges

• The U.S. reported a record number of new Covid cases on Monday, with over 1 million new infections.
• A total of 1,082,549 new coronavirus cases were reported Monday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, as the highly infectious omicron variant continues to spread throughout the country and beyond.
• The U.S. also has the highest seven-day average of new cases in the world, according to Johns Hopkins rankings.

The new daily tally brings the total number of cases confirmed in the U.S. since the start of the pandemic to 56,189,547. In total, the virus has caused 827,748 deaths across the country.

More at source: CNBC

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The U.S. breaks its single-day virus case record for the second day in a row

With more than 580,000 cases, the United States shattered its own record for new daily coronavirus cases — beating a milestone it already broke just the day before.

Thursday’s count, according to The New York Times’s database, toppled the 488,000 new cases on Wednesday, which was nearly double the highest numbers from last winter. The back-to-back record-breaking days are a growing sign of the virus’s fast spread and come as the world enters its third year of the pandemic.

More at source: NY TIMES

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CDC revealed that fully vaccinated people can spread the coronavirus

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed that anyone — regardless of vaccination status — can likely spread the omicron variant of the coronavirus to other people.

• “The Omicron variant likely will spread more easily than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus and how easily Omicron spreads compared to Delta remains unknown,” according to the CDC. “CDC expects that anyone with Omicron infection can spread the virus to others, even if they are vaccinated or don’t have symptoms.”

More at source: CDC

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In this most joyous of seasons we want to extend a very Merry Christmas to all IJCSA Members and their families & staff. Also in this season of reflection and looking forward to a prosperous NEW YEAR 2022!! Offices will be closed through the 27th and reopening on the 28th. For New Years closed on the 31st & open on the 3rd. All automated online services will be open. Be caring! Be kind! Be safe! Enjoy the holidays! 

Covid-19 Marches Toward Endemic Status in U.S. as Omicron Spreads

The Omicron variant’s aggressive advance is the latest twist in the course of a disease that public-health experts say is on a path toward becoming endemic in the U.S.

In other words, the Covid-19 pandemic won’t have an end date. Rather, a crisis that engulfed the world within months of the coronavirus’s discovery in China will dissipate in fits and starts into something that feels more like normal over the course of years, infectious-disease experts say.

“I don’t think there’s going to be a day where the whole thing feels over,” said Joshua Schiffer, an associate professor in the vaccine and infectious disease division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

How quickly an endemic, steady-state arrives and how disruptive the virus remains will depend on what level of disease officials and individuals decide to tolerate, the precautions they are willing to adopt, and how the virus evolves.

“It’s a tug of war between society and the virus,” said Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious-disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco...

More at source: WSJ

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The Omicron Plan: “Circuit breakers” and other short-term strategies to get us through the next wave.

Are we back to square one? Unlikely. We are seeing an alarming increase in case counts, but I’ve yet to see data suggesting that our vaccines fail to provide protection against severe disease which, fortunately, matches my recent frontline experience. Due to high vaccination rates here in Massachusetts, mostly we’ve been seeing mild cases, with some serious cases among the unvaccinated.

But it’s a very dangerous time. Because many parts of the country remain under-vaccinated, Omicron may stretch hospitals well beyond their limits. That could mean a horror show in some places, especially where hospitals are already full of patients receiving care for “usual” (non-Covid) conditions.

More at source: Inside Medicine

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Omicron variant has now been detected in 30 U.S. states, with over 150 confirmed cases. 

The Omicron variant is continuing its spread across the U.S., now being confirmed over 150 times in 30 U.S. states.

Over the weekend, five U.S. states - Idaho, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and Tennessee - joined the growing list of states to detect the variant within its borders.

Texas also took over as the nation's leader in sequenced cases, overtaking New York, with 36 cases sequenced.

In total, 159 cases of Omicron have been confirmed by U.S. health officials, though the total number of cases nationwide is much higher, including 43 cases reported by the CDC on Saturday.

In the wake of this new threat, health officials are urging Americans to receive COVID-19 booster shots, as initial data is showing the new variant has the ability to evade protection provided by the vaccines.

The nation also approaches another dark milestone in the pandemic, as it will likely eclipse 800,000 deaths caused by the virus at some point this week.

An analysis by the New York Times finds that Americans over the age of 65 have been struck especially hard by the virus, with one of every 100 people in the age group succumbing to Covid. 

Across the pond, the UK has recorded its first death caused by the strain, as the nation suffers a massive outbreak of the new strain.

The UK leads the world in confirmed cases of the variant, approaching the 5,000 mark on Monday morning. 

More at source: Daily Mail ... 

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When will the COVID pandemic end? CDC Director Rochelle Walensky shares her prediction

ATLANTA -- When Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, takes stock of the coronavirus pandemic, she knows it's far from over. But she also believes it won't last forever.

For Walensky, one of the key signs the United States is exiting the pandemic will be when hospitals are no longer filled to the brim with COVID-19 patients. And when the number of daily deaths starts to plummet.

"We've gotten pretty cavalier about 1,100 deaths a day," Walensky told ABC News Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton in a rare in-person interview from CDC headquarters in Atlanta.

"That's an extraordinary amount of deaths in a single day from this disease," Walensky said. "We can't -- I can't -- be in a position where that is OK."

For the nation's public health experts, deaths and hospitalizations have become a more reliable benchmark for progress than overall cases.

More at source: ABC

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66% of employees want better office cleaning practices before returning to work

Omicron paired with the tight labor market has put pressure on business owners to do whatever it takes to retain their employees and instill a sense of workplace safety. However, a new study from the Cleaning Coalition of America (CCA), an organization that supports and celebrates America’s cleaning professionals, shows that nearly half of survey participants – 43% – are still worried about returning to the office. CNBC Make It spoke with Josh Feinberg, President of the CCA, to discuss what workers expect to feel more comfortable in the office.

According to the survey, which included 1,600 U.S. workers, when asked to rank their greatest impediment to returning to the office, respondents point to Covid infection rates first (35.2%) and vaccination rates second (17.4%). While cleaning practices weren’t a major priority for employees pre-Covid, 66% of U.S. workers find it extremely important now. For 62% of employees, simply seeing sanitation professionals regularly at their workplace would make them feel safer.

More at source: CNBC

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