Due to the Spread of 'Omicron'... Over 140,000 New Hospitalizations per Day in the US

On the 10th (local time), public sector workers are getting tested at a COVID-19 testing site in Washington DC, USA. [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] As the highly transmissible Omicron COVID-19 variant rapidly spreads in the United States, the number of hospitalized patients is increasing quickly. On the 10th (local time), it was reported that 140,000 people were hospitalized due to COVID-19 in a single day.

According to the Washington Post (WP), which compiled data from Johns Hopkins University, state health authorities, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 141,385 people were hospitalized across the United States on that day. This is the highest number since January 14 of last year, when 142,273 people were hospitalized, marking the second time since the COVID-19 outbreak that hospitalizations have exceeded 140,000. Among them, 23,524 patients were admitted to intensive care units.

Experts in the United States predict that the rapid transmission of the Omicron variant will lead to even more hospitalizations. A research team at the University of Washington estimated that hospitalizations will peak at 273,000 on the 25th, while Professor Jeffrey Shaman of Columbia University projected that the number of hospitalized patients will reach between 300,000 and 350,000 by the 27th.

As of the previous day, the U.S. seven-day average of daily confirmed cases was 714,681, a 74% increase compared to one week earlier, and the seven-day average of daily deaths was 1,674, a 6% increase from the previous week.

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