The US has recorded more than one million new Covid cases as officials warn the peak of a fast-spreading Omicron surge is still to come.
A record 1,080,211 cases were reported on Monday – the highest one-day tally of new cases anywhere in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University. The Omicron variant accounts for the majority of cases in the US.
While rates of death and hospital admissions in the US have been far lower in recent weeks than in previous infection spikes, the number of hospital admissions has been steadily rising.
The country is now facing almost a vertical increase in cases, said top US pandemic adviser Anthony Fauci, adding that the peak may be weeks away.
US President Joe Biden acknowledged on Tuesday that there has been concern and some considerable confusion about the rising cases, but reiterated that the majority of hospital admissions and deaths from Covid are among the unvaccinated. He said that the US has enough vaccines to fully jab every eligible citizen.
Some 8,652 people are reported to have died from coronavirus in the past week, according to Johns Hopkins.
The previous US record of infection cases was 590,000, reported four days ago.