Under Biden, US Reportedly Sets a World Record, But Not in a Good Way

Leah Barkoukis | December 30, 2021 12:00 PM

With Covid-19 sweeping the nation, the United States set a world record this week after reporting 488,000 cases of the virus on Wednesday, according to data compiled by The New York Times. The figure is likely an undercount given the use of at-home testing and asymptomatic cases but is still nearly double the highest numbers reported last winter.

Wednesday’s seven-day average of new daily cases, 301,000, was also a record, compared with 267,000 the day before, according to the database. In the past week, more than two million cases have been reported nationally, and 15 states and territories reported more cases than in any other seven-day period. (NYT)

Importantly, however, the new variant appears more mild compared to other strains.

The rise has been driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant, which became dominant in the United States last week. So far, however, the increase has not resulted in more severe disease, as hospitalizations have increased only 11 percent and deaths have decreased slightly in the past two weeks. […]
Record caseloads are being reported in a long list of U.S. cities where vaccination rates are relatively high, including New York, Washington, Seattle, San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta and Detroit.
Experts say there are two reasons for the high numbers in urban areas: population density and more testing. (NYT)