US coronavirus: US averages over 100,000 new Covid-19 infections per day, two-month high
According to data from Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the seven-day moving average of new cases is 121,437. Before this week, the US last topped the 100,000-case-a-day mark in early October.
The number of Covid-19 deaths is also on the rise, with a seven-day average of 1,651 people dying from the virus each day as of Saturday, JHU data showed. The average daily death toll hasn’t been this high for more than a month.
The first case was found in California on Wednesday, and by the end of the week the variant had been identified in 15 other states: Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey , New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.
However, the US is now more equipped to deal with the newly discovered variant than it was during the pandemic outbreak, Dr Vivek Murthy, US Surgeon General, said on Thursday.
“We’re in a very different place now than we were a year ago because we’ve learned a lot more. We have a vaccine available. We have more tests and what we have to do to get there. get through this winter is Murthy told CNN.
The surgeon emphasized that while there is a lot to learn about the new variant, mitigation efforts, including masks and hand hygiene combined with physical distancing, are still effective in reducing provide some protection.
Delta is still the dominant race in the world
While the Omicron variant has the potential to become the dominant virus strain in the US, the Delta variant continues to be present in 99.9% of coronavirus cases, according to Dr Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, according to Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC. , director of the CDC.
“We know what we need to do to fight Delta, and that’s vaccinate, vaccinate if you’re eligible, and continue all those precautions, including wearing a mask. And those measures. that method most likely works against the Omicron variant,” Walensky told CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
“Even if the Omicron strain doesn’t get worse, we’re losing almost a thousand people a day from the Delta variant, and that in itself is a reason to get people motivated,” said Dr Richard Besser, former acting director of the CDC, told CNN earlier this week.
Stricter travel rules to start on Monday
Dr Anthony Fauci said earlier this week that traveling during the holidays is okay – but vaccinations and health promotion are a must.
In addition, any foreign nationals arriving in the United States must be fully immunized, although there is no vaccination requirement for U.S. citizens traveling by plane, globally or domestically.
This week, however, the White House said the requirement for a vaccine for domestic travel remained on the table as an option for the future.
CNN’s Deidre McPhillips, Jamie Gumbrecht, Jen Christensen, Maggie Fox, Travis Caldwell and Naomi Thomas contributed to this report.
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