The lightning spread of the new Omicron variant in the US has driven daily Covid-19 new cases to a record high of over 5 lakh.
According to the Johns Hopkins University data, it is the highest single-day increase of cases since the onset of the pandemic in the country. Over the past week, over 16.5 lakh new cases and over 10,000 new deaths were added to the US tally.
This has led to another grim record. The US hit a seven-day average of over 2.5 lakh new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday. The 2,54,496 daily average has broken the country's previous record of about 2,51,989 daily cases, reported on January 11.
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Experts predict that the Omicron variant, which is the most contagious strain of coronavirus yet, is going to make the start of 2022 very difficult.
Several experts have warned that the US could continue to "see half a million cases a day over the next week to 10 days.
The Omicron variant, first identified in late November in southern Africa, has sent infections soaring to levels not seen since last winter, bringing the total number of US coronavirus cases to more than 52.9 million, with more than 819,000 deaths.