COVID continues to rampage

The average number of coronavirus-related deaths in the United States last week, from Jan. 3 to Jan. 9, was 1,615, up 29 percent from the previous week, from Dec. 27 to Jan. 2. The figures were reported Monday by Johns Hopkins University.

The hospitalization rate is also increasing. The number of people with coronavirus at U.S. facilities on Monday, Jan. 10, was 141,385, up 37 percent from the previous Monday, Jan. 3. The Department of Health and Human Services said Monday. According to its data, the total number of new cases of coronavirus detected daily in the country exceeds 600,000, more than twice as many as a week ago.

The federal U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Dec. 2021 that the omicron strain of coronavirus has become the dominant strain in the country, accounting for about three-quarters of infections. In several areas, including the southeastern and northwestern United States, the proportion of those infected with the omicron strain exceeds 90 percent.

In all, there have been 306.6 million cases of coronavirus infection worldwide, and 5.4 million people have died from the effects of the disease, according to the university. The U.S. continues to rank first in these two indicators.