U.S. Sets Global Record of Over 1 Million Covid Cases in One Day

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The United States just set a global daily record for the most confirmed Covid cases in a single day, as the Omicron variant continues to spread throughout the nation.

According to data gathered by John Hopkins University shows that at least 1.06 million people tested positive for Covid on Monday. Bloomberg notes that this nearly doubles the previous record of about 590,000 cases in the U.S. just four days ago as the numbers have risen at an alarming rate.

Between the end of the holiday season and the ongoing shortage of Covid tests, it is possible that the rising rate of Covid cases remains underestimated. For Americans who are able to test themselves at home, those results don’t get reported to the government, so the full extent of the virus’ spread is unknown even as more and more states are trending in the red.

“While surging cases haven’t yet translated into severe infections and skyrocketing deaths, their impact has been felt across the country as the newly-infected isolate at home,” Bloomberg notes. “The results are canceled flights, closed schools and offices, overwhelmed hospitals, and strangled supply chains.”

The surge comes as Dr. Anthony Fauci warned about the healthcare system being pushed to the limit if the caseload leads to a surge in hospitalizations for Covid. It was also during this CNN interview that Fauci was pressed over the CDC’s shifting guidance for how long people with Covid need to isolate, and whether a negative test is enough to let them leave quarantine.