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The United States recorded a new record high Tuesday, with more than 500,000 new COVID-19 cases reported, according to Johns Hopkins University.
According to the database, the U.S. recorded 512,553 positive COVID-19 cases, breaking the all-time record of 294,015 that was set on Jan. 8.
CNN and The Washington Post reported that the rapid increase in cases is due to a surge of the omicron variant, with Tuesday marking a seven-day average of 253,245 cases being reported.
Tuesday’s report passed the previous 7-day average daily high of 248,209, which was set on Jan. 12, the news outlets reported.
California also set a record Tuesday as they became the first state to record more than 5 million known coronavirus infections.
A CDC spokesperson said that the daily case total is likely an “overestimate” due to lagging state reporting.
“The counts of cases will become more stable after the new year,” CDC spokesperson Jasmine Reed told Politico.
The Omicron variant, first identified in late November in southern Africa, has sent infections soaring to levels not seen since last winter, bringing the total number of US coronavirus cases to more than 52.9 million, with more than 819,000 deaths.
The first known case of the Omicron variant in the US was identified on December 1. Since then, the variant has been detected in most US states and territories and is rapidly increasing the proportion of Covid-19 cases it is causing.
The Omicron variant was estimated to account for 58.6 percent of coronavirus variants circulating in the US for the week ending December 25, according to new data released Tuesday by the CDC.
According to the estimate, the prevalence of the Omicron variant had eclipsed that of the Delta variant, which accounted for 41 percent of infections. Omicron`s surge has prompted more cancellations in travel, sports and other events across the country.
