Omicron variant of COVID-19 accounts for more deaths than Delta surge across U.S.

NEW DELHI, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has accounted for more deaths than the Delta variant in the United States, an Indian news agency Asian News International (ANI) reported.

The ANI, quoting a local U.S. daily, The Seattle Times, reported that since Nov. 24 last year, when South Africa first reported the Omicron variant to the World Health Organization, the U.S. has confirmed more than 30,163,600 new infections with more than 154,750 new deaths.

By comparison, from Aug. 1 to Oct. 31 in 2021, a similar duration covering the worst of the Delta surge in the United States, the country confirmed 10,917,590 new infections with 132,616 new deaths, the report said.

The news outlet reported that the death count during the Omicron wave is about 17 percent higher than that in the equivalent-length Delta period.

The report said the death count underscored "the country's continuing vulnerability.

"When the number of infections is as astronomical as 30 million, even a tiny death rate will mean a catastrophic death count," it said.