Deaths and hospitalizations due to COVID-19 are comparatively low as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus continues to spread, said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director, Rochelle Walensky, while COVID cases in the US reached a record high.

She said that in a few weeks’ time, Omicron has surged across the country, and is expected to continue to spread. However, while cases have shown a considerable increase compared to last week, hospitalizations and deaths have been comparatively low. 

She added that the seven-day daily average of cases has increased 60% over the previous week’s figure to around 240,400 per day. The average daily hospitalization rate for the same duration has increased by 14% to about 9,000 per day and deaths have decreased by around 7% at 1,100 per day… (Channel News Asia, December 30, 2021)