Key COVID-19 indicators surge again in U.S., straining hospitals

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Another COVID-19 winter surge is brewing in the Untied States as the key indicators are all rising, swamping U.S. hospitals with record number of patients sicken by respiratory diseases.

The United States is currently witnessing a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

The country averaged about 65,569 new cases each day in the week ending Dec. 7, a 49.6 percent surge from the previous week, according to data of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Experts believe the real count of cases are much higher as many were underreported due to at-home COVID-19 tests.

The country has also continued to see an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations. An average of more than 4,800 virus-positive Americans were admitted to hospitals each day in the week ending Dec. 6, a 13.8 percent increase over the week prior, CDC data showed.

Daily COVID-19 death count was also rising. The country averaged over 420 COVID-19 deaths in the most recent week, a 61.7 percent surge over the previous week.

As of Dec. 8, U.S. counties, districts, or territories with a high or medium COVID-19 Community Level increased by 3.6 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively.

Currently, about 64 percent of sites across the country have reported moderate to high SARS-CoV-2 levels in wastewater. About 38 percent of sites reporting wastewater data have seen some of the highest levels for those sites since Dec. 1 last year.

Easing restrictions, broader immunity in the general population and mixed messages about whether the pandemic is over have softened the sense of threat for the public, especially younger adults.

The COVID-19 surge came as people are traveling for holidays and colder winter are pushing for growing indoor gatherings.

The climbing of COVID-19 related hospitalizations and deaths are posing severe threats to older adults and those with existing health problems.

The United States authorized new COVID-19 booster shots which targets both Omicron and the original coronavirus, and has expanded the use of the booster to include children as young as 6 months.

"But our booster rates among seniors are pathetically low," said Eric Topol, director and founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute. Only about a third of the seniors have got the updated booster shots.

In addition, only 13.5 percent of the U.S. population ages 5 years and older have received the updated booster doses since they became available in September, CDC data showed.