Pandemic, blizzard haunt U.S. as Omicron smashes Europe

BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Soaked in massive COVID-19 waves magnified by the Omicron variant, many European countries are suffering a tough start of the new year and the United States is no exception, only that the recent blizzards have made the situation there even worse.

U.S.: OMICRON COUPLED WITH SNOWSTORM

Shattering a single-day record with over 1 million COVID-19 cases on Monday amid the rapid spread of Omicron, the United States remains the country worst hit by the pandemic, with the world's largest caseload and highest death toll.

"The rapid spread of COVID-19's Omicron variant is weighing on U.S. businesses, keeping more workers home sick or quarantined and leading some companies to cut services and reduce hours," reported The Wall Street Journal.

The rise of infections to record levels in recent days has resulted in thousands of canceled flights, prompted retailers to train available employees on new jobs or close some stores altogether, companies were quoted as saying.

The massive cancellation of flights, apparently, was caused not only by COVID-19, but also by the heavy snowstorms on the country's East Coast, which caused severe power outage in several states and forcing the federal government in Washington, D.C. to close on Monday.

In Maryland, two women and a man died after their vehicle collided with a snow plow on Monday, and another man was hospitalized in critical condition, reported The New York Times.

The mid-Atlantic and New England regions will face the second snowstorm of the week from Thursday night into Friday, according to weather-forecasting service agency AccuWeather.

"Accumulating snow will be disruptive across a large swath of the Northeast, including major cities from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia, New York City and Boston," it said on Wednesday.

EUROPE: SURGING INFECTIONS

Across the Atlantic, the Omicron variant has sent Britain's daily COVID-19 infections surging over Christmas and the New Year, with 157,758 cases reported in England and Scotland on Monday.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that the National Health Service will be under "considerable" pressure in the coming weeks amid the wave of the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

France, Greece and Croatia have reported record daily COVID-19 cases while the Netherlands and neighboring Belgium have seen infection rates hiking significantly by 35 percent and 79 percent respectively.

Cases have soared in Greece despite strict measures during the holiday season. The National Public Health Organization on Tuesday registered an all-time high of 50,126 infections within 24 hours.

In Hungary, official data on Wednesday showed 5,270 new infections in a 24-hour span, more than doubling the figures recorded in the previous few weeks.

Official data showed that the surge of new COVID-19 infections was largely fueled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, and the situation was worsened by gatherings during the holiday season.

In order to counter the spread of the Omicron variant, officials and experts have once again made appeals for people to get vaccinated as soon as possible.