Hospitalisations have increased steadily since late December as Omicron quickly overtook Delta as the dominant coronavirus variant in the United States, although experts say Omicron will likely prove less deadly than prior iterations.
The United States reported 662 000 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the fourth highest daily US total, just three days after a record of nearly 1 million cases was hit, according to the Reuters tally. While hospitalisations continue to rise in New York, Hochul and other state officials expressed optimism that the worst of the Omicron wave could pass in the coming days.
“A lot of this is unnecessary death,” said Lynne Kokoczka, a clinical nurse specialist in an intensive care unit at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio shortly after she helped remove a dead COVID-19 patient from the ward. Officials continue to press vaccinations as the best protection against serious illness, although federal mandates requiring them have become politically contentious.