U.S. COVID-19 hospitalizations surpass last winter record as Omicron surges
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The U.S. reported 1.35M new coronavirus infections on Monday as the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant showed no signs of slowing, source Reuters.
The previous record was 1.03M cases on Jan. 3. The seven-day average for new cases has tripled in two weeks to over 700,000 new infections a day.

COVID-19 hospitalizations has also increased. As of Sunday, 142,388 people with the virus were hospitalized nationwide, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, surpassing the peak of 142,315 reported on Jan. 14 of last year.
The seven-day average of daily hospitalizations was 132,086, an increase of 83% from two weeks ago.
While the Omicron variant is potentially less severe, health officials have warned that the sheer surge in the number of infections could strain hospital systems. About a quarter of U.S. hospitals are experiencing critical staffing shortages.
The spike in cases has disrupted schools, which are struggling with absences of staff, teachers and bus drivers.
Chicago canceled classes for a fourth day as the district and teachers failed to agree on how to deal with increased infections.
New York City suspended service on three subway lines as a large number of workers were out sick.

Reuters also reported that CDC is considering updating its mask guidance because of an increase in the number of Omicron-related coronavirus cases.
The CDC guidance is expected to say that if people can "tolerate wearing a KN95 or N95 mask all day, you should," the report said.
Vaccine stocks: Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX), Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX), and AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN).
Recently, Pfizer CEO said that Omicron-focused COVID-19 vaccine will be ready in March and production is already underway.