Coronavirus strain shows no sign of letting up
The Coronavirus is spreading like wildfire, sending more Americans to the hospital than during the height of the pandemic one year ago.
By Jan. 9, 142,388 Americans needed emergency hospital care surpassing the daily peak of 142,315 victims reported on Jan. 14, 2021. The seven-day average of daily admissions was 132,086, an 83 percent increase from two weeks ago, according to data compiled by the New York Times.
This latest wave is being sparked by the Omicron virus variant which was first detected in South Africa last year. Most of the increase in serious cases are among Americans younger than 60 years of age. Daily admissions for those older than 60 are still below last winter’s record.
The statistics also include people who test positive for the virus after being hospitalized for other illnesses but no firm numbers for that category exist.
More than 62 million Americans have been infected since the pandemic began in 2020 and 843,000 have died. The United States leads the world in the total number of Covid-19 related deaths.
Health officials say the current caseload numbers are not as relevant because Omicron is less virulent than the Delta virus, especially among those who have received vaccines and preventative booster shots.
But the sheer number of serious Omicron cases has overwhelmed hospitals. More than one quarter nationwide are beset by critical staffing shortages. Oregon has deployed that state’s National Guard to help and residents of Illinois and Massachusetts have to wait for elective surgeries.
On Tuesday, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, called the wave of Omicron cases a “massive, unprecedented surge.”
“This is an extraordinary virus, the likes of which we have not seen even close to in well over 100 years. It is a very wily virus,” one that has “fooled everybody all the time, from the time it first came in, to Delta, to now Omicron,” he said. “We’re doing the best we possibly can,” he added.
Meanwhile, misinformation about Covid-19 tests has grown on internet based social media including a false narrative that Coronavirus tests don’t work. One TikTock video showing a home test that came out positive after being exposed to running water went viral. Health officials said that while some liquids can cause a positive test, the procedure works well when used as directed.
Coronaviruses can be especially virulent for those with preexisting health conditions like cancer or obesity. The federal Centers for Disease Control has issued a report containing guidelines on how to treat Coronavirus patients with these underlying problems.
By Jan. 9, 142,388 Americans needed emergency hospital care surpassing the daily peak of 142,315 victims reported on Jan. 14, 2021. The seven-day average of daily admissions was 132,086, an 83 percent increase from two weeks ago, according to data compiled by the New York Times.
This latest wave is being sparked by the Omicron virus variant which was first detected in South Africa last year. Most of the increase in serious cases are among Americans younger than 60 years of age. Daily admissions for those older than 60 are still below last winter’s record.
The statistics also include people who test positive for the virus after being hospitalized for other illnesses but no firm numbers for that category exist.
More than 62 million Americans have been infected since the pandemic began in 2020 and 843,000 have died. The United States leads the world in the total number of Covid-19 related deaths.
Health officials say the current caseload numbers are not as relevant because Omicron is less virulent than the Delta virus, especially among those who have received vaccines and preventative booster shots.
But the sheer number of serious Omicron cases has overwhelmed hospitals. More than one quarter nationwide are beset by critical staffing shortages. Oregon has deployed that state’s National Guard to help and residents of Illinois and Massachusetts have to wait for elective surgeries.
On Tuesday, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, called the wave of Omicron cases a “massive, unprecedented surge.”
“This is an extraordinary virus, the likes of which we have not seen even close to in well over 100 years. It is a very wily virus,” one that has “fooled everybody all the time, from the time it first came in, to Delta, to now Omicron,” he said. “We’re doing the best we possibly can,” he added.
Meanwhile, misinformation about Covid-19 tests has grown on internet based social media including a false narrative that Coronavirus tests don’t work. One TikTock video showing a home test that came out positive after being exposed to running water went viral. Health officials said that while some liquids can cause a positive test, the procedure works well when used as directed.
Coronaviruses can be especially virulent for those with preexisting health conditions like cancer or obesity. The federal Centers for Disease Control has issued a report containing guidelines on how to treat Coronavirus patients with these underlying problems.