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News > World

US Single-Day COVID-19 Cases Surpass 1 Million

  • People at the Lincoln Heights Recreation Center testing site in Los Angeles, U.S., Jan. 2, 2022.

    People at the Lincoln Heights Recreation Center testing site in Los Angeles, U.S., Jan. 2, 2022. | Photo: Xinhua

Published 4 January 2022
Opinion

The number of new COVID-19 cases has doubled in the last seven days to an average of 418,000 a day.

The United States shattered a single-day record with over 1 million COVID-19 cases on Monday amid the rapid spread of Omicron variant and government decisions to ease prevention and control measures in the country.

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As of 0500 GMT Tuesday, the country registered about 1.07 million confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States remains the country worst hit by the pandemic, with the world's most cases and deaths. The number of new COVID-19 cases has doubled in the last seven days to an average of 418,000 a day.

However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has decided to shorten the recommended times that people should isolate when they have tested positive for the virus from 10 days to five days if they don't have symptoms, a move that drew criticism from some medical experts and created confusion among the public.

"The rapid spread of COVID-19's Omicron variant is weighing on U.S. businesses, keeping more workers home sick or quarantined and leading some companies to cut services and reduce hours," reported The Wall Street Journal on Monday.

The rise of U.S. COVID-19 infections to record levels in recent days has resulted in thousands of canceled flights, prompted retailers to train available employees on new jobs or close some stores altogether, companies were quoted as saying.

"The rapidly spreading Omicron variant is hitting businesses at a time when consumers' demand for products and services has surged, and many companies already are struggling with staffing and supply-chain challenges," said The Journal report.

According to Johns Hopkins, more than 292 million COVID-19 cases and over 5.44 million related deaths have been registered worldwide. Across the Atlantic, the Omicron variant has sent Britain's daily new caseload surging over Christmas and the New Year, with 157,758 infections reported in England and Scotland on Monday.

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