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Agencies

US deaths from Covid-19 have surpassed 900,000, accelerated to the highest levels in 13 months by the surge in infections caused by the Omicron variant, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
US President Joe Biden said it was a “tragic milestone” and urged Americans to get their vaccinations and booster shots.
The latest tally marks an increase of more than 100,000 US Covid-19 fatalities since December 12.
Preliminary evidence has shown that Omicron, while far more infectious, generally causes less severe illness than earlier iterations of the virus, such as Delta. But the sheer volume of Omicron cases fuelled a surge in hospitalisations that has strained many US health care systems to their limits in recent weeks.
Omicron may have gone from mice to men, say Chinese scientists
Experts have said the bulk of Omicron patients requiring hospitalisation were unvaccinated individuals and people with other underlying chronic health conditions.
Data also suggests that Omicron may have hit the United States harder than other countries with younger overall populations, such as in Africa.
As of Friday, according to Reuters’ running tally of state-reported data, the total number of American lives lost to Covid-19 since the first US cases were detected in early 2020 has reached at least 904,067, more than the entire population of South Dakota.


That tally is the highest number of Covid-19 deaths reported by any nation, followed by Russia, Brazil and India with more than 1.8 million deaths combined. In terms of coronavirus fatalities per capita, the United States ranks 20th, well below the top two – Peru and Russia.
Nevertheless, the US Covid-19 death rate appears to be slowing as the Omicron surge wanes, Reuters’ figures show. The seven-day average fell for two days in a row to 2,592, compared with a peak average of 2,674 in the current wave of infections. By comparison, the peak during the Delta wave in January 2021 was an average of 3,300 deaths a day.
WHO: 90 million Covid-19 cases since Omicron was detected
Some public health officials have said that as the Omicron outbreak recedes and hospitalisations decline, the pandemic may enter a new phase in the United States and elsewhere.
In the state of Iowa, for example, the governor announced on Friday that a public health disaster proclamation, and special safety measures that go with it, would expire on February 15.




“The flu and other infectious illnesses are part of our everyday lives, and coronavirus can be managed similarly,” Governor Kim Reynolds tweeted.
Americans continue to die from Covid in large numbers because only 64 per cent of the population is fully immunised, despite highly effective vaccines being widely available.
Nationally, confirmed Covid-19 cases are now averaging 354,000 a day, half of what was reported less than two weeks ago and down from the peak of nearly 806,000 infections a day on January 15. Many infections, however, go uncounted because they are detected by home-testing kits and not reported to public health authorities, officials say.
‘Stealth Omicron’ more infectious than original strain, Danish study shows
Over the past seven days, the states reporting the most new cases per capita were Alaska, Kentucky, Washington state, South Carolina and North Dakota.
Current US Covid hospitalisations stood at 117,000 compared with a peak of nearly 153,000 on January 20.
The Covid pandemic has killed at least 5.7 million people worldwide since it began in December 2019, according to Johns Hopkins University.
But the World Health Organization says the actual toll could be two to three times higher.
Reuters, Bloomberg, Agence France-Presse, Associated Press


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Coronavirus pandemic

US Covid-19 death toll surpasses 900,000 – driven in part by Omicron

A colourised scanning electron micrograph of a cell heavily infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (orange/red), isolated from a patient sample. Photo: TNS

US sees average daily deaths from Omicron coronavirus variant top Delta total

Medical staff cover a Covid-19 patient’s body with a sheet at a hospital in Los Angeles. The US has seen a higher death rate in the past two months than other developed nations. Photo: AP

New Yorkers queue for Covid-19 tests in Times Square. Photo: AFP

Omicron Covid-19 may be headed for a rapid drop in US and Britain, scientists say

The Omicron variant has proved so wildly contagious that it may already be running out of people to infect, scientists hope. Photo: AFP

Anthony Fauci says US life without strict pandemic controls could begin within months

Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Wednesday that the Omicron variant appears to be less threatening than other versions of the Covid-19 virus. Photo: AP

People lining up to get tested for Covid-19 at a testing site in Washington on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Dr Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, with Fauci at a Senate hearing in July. On Wednesday Walensky told CNN that her agency had cut the recommended isolation period to five days because it was important to find a level “people were willing to adhere to”. Photo: Getty Images via TNS

Coronavirus: Third jab boosts Omicron antibodies ‘significantly’, AstraZeneca study finds

Astra Zeneca’s third dose booster vaccine protects ‘significantly’ against Omicron. Photo: Reuters

A medical worker prepares a syringe of the Astra Zeneca vaccine. Photo: AP 

News

World

United States & Canada

Coronavirus

US & Canada


US Covid-19 death toll was 800,000 mid-December, just a month and a half ago
Officials have expressed hope that the worst of Omicron is coming to an end



The toll had hit 800,000 dead in mid-December, just a month and a half ago.


Coronavirus pandemic: All stories

Coronavirus US

US Covid-19 death toll surpasses 900,000 – driven in part by Omicron

US Covid-19 death toll was 800,000 mid-December, just a month and a half ago Officials have expressed hope that the worst of Omicron is coming to an end

US Covid-19 death toll was 800,000 mid-December, just a month and a half ago

Officials have expressed hope that the worst of Omicron is coming to an end