US Covid deaths are up to 2,259 per day as figure continues to climb despite ...

US Covid deaths are up to 2,259 per day as figure continues to climb despite ...
US Covid deaths are up to 2,259 per day as figure continues to climb despite ...

Covid deaths in the U.S. are on the rise, and are approaching worrying levels not reached since the tale end of last winter's surge - which is still the deadliest of the pandemic. The nation is averaging 2,259 deaths per day this week, the highest total since February 17, 2021. 

Hope could be on the horizon, though, as deaths often lag behind Covid cases, which have been on a decline in recent weeks - especially along the east coast.

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, daily cases have dropped by 13 percent over the past seven days, down to 639,723 per day from 773,771 per day. It appears that the U.S. is beyond the peak of the Omicron surge - with cases eclipsing 800,000 per day last week then coming down again quickly. 

The drop in cases has not been as pronounced in the U.S. as it has in peer nations like the UK and South Africa, though, due to the large size and spread out nature of the country. 

The recent decline in cases has been long predicted by health officials. Omicron arrived in the U.S. around the time of its discovery in late-November, and quickly caused cases to spike - especially in major population centers like New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Cases are starting to decline in these areas as the variant is burning out.  The highly infectious, vaccine resistant, strain of the virus infected so many people so quickly that it started to run out of people to transmit to.  

All across the east coast , cases are falling. New York and New Jersey - which both suffered massive surges of cases last month due to rampant transmission in the Big Apple. Both states are now recording case drops of around 70 percent over the past two weeks.

Even southern states like Georgia, Florida and South Carolina that were among those hardest struck by the variant when it arrived stateside at the end of last year are either recording declining cases or significantly smaller increases than they were in previous weeks. 

The Omicron variant is more mild than previous strains of the virus as well, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released data Tuesday highlighting the low mortality rate of the variant when compared to previous strains. 

A study published by the CDC found that despite the peak of the Omicron variant including 400 percent more cases at its peak, deaths were actually down four percent when compared to the height of the Delta-fueled outbreak.

'COVID-19 disease severity appears to be lower during the Omicron period than during previous periods of high transmission, likely related to higher vaccination coverage, which reduces disease severity, lower virulence of the Omicron variant, and infection-acquired immunity,' researchers wrote. 

Despite the relatively lower mortality rate, the high volume of Covid cases can still strain hospital systems, and cause deaths to rise to worrying levels. While a lower proportion of virus patients are dying now when compared to previous surges, the more than 2,000 Americans succumbing to the virus every day has still alarmed some experts.

Another threat could be around the corner as well. Across the pond in the UK, a sub-variant of Omicron that is believed to be even more infectious is starting to spread. While it still accounts for

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