The pace of daily new infections of the coronavirus has nearly doubled in the past week, surpassing two million known cases a day, underscoring just how quickly the Omicron variant has spread around the world.
On April 25 last year, the global average hit a high of more than 827,000 cases, a level that has been surpassed on each of the last 12 days as the world’s case curve charts a nearly vertical rise.
Health authorities around the world reported 2.1 million cases on average in the past seven days, nearly three times the amount two weeks ago, according to a New York Times database. The latest wave of cases has been driven by outbreaks in the United States and Europe, where the Omicron variant has become dominant. The count is likely lower than the actual number of infections, given that many people discover they are infected with home tests. Not all of those cases are reported to authorities.
While deaths and hospitalizations have not increased as quickly, the surge has overwhelmed health care facilities from the United to Europe, and led companies, schools and governments to curb services because of a shortage of workers. The latest spike has also led to new curfews, lockdowns and restrictions around the world and discussions of whether booster shots should become mandatory.
