It marks the first time since February that daily coronavirus cases topped 100,000 and comes as a new omicron subvariant is spreading.
The U.S. reported nearly 115,000 new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday and close to 2,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
It marks the first time since February that daily infections topped 100,000. The last time daily deaths reached this level was early March.
The seven-day averages of cases and deaths, however, are considerably lower. The U.S. is averaging more than 68,000 new cases and over 700 deaths per day, according to the data from Johns Hopkins University.
Experts tend to track averages as daily reporting across states can vary. Still, new case averages show that infections are up considerably from 26,000 per day in early April.
The majority of states are reporting increasing coronavirus cases.
Meanwhile, a new and highly transmissible omicron subvariant was responsible for more than 36% of infections last week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cases of BA.2.12.1 are up from nearly 27% of cases two weeks ago and 17% of infections the week before that.
While BA.2, or “stealth omicron,” is still the dominant omicron subvariant circulating at 62% of cases, its proportion has decreased in recent weeks.
BA.2.12.1 is believed to be 25% more transmissible than BA.2, according to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky. Its severity and effect on vaccines is still unknown.
“Additional evaluation is currently underway to understand the impact of BA.2.12.1 on vaccine effectiveness,” Walensky told reporters last week. “But importantly, we continue to believe that those who are vaccinated and especially those who are boosted, continue to have strong protection against severe disease, even from BA.2.12.1.”
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