U.S. hospitals brace for continuing surge in covid cases fueled by the omicron variant

“The numbers look huge. But my guess is the true number is much, much higher,” said Craig Spencer, director of global health in emergency medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “It’s definitely missing a lot of people who are testing positive on rapid tests” and failing to report their results.

December 28, 2021

U.S. hospitals continue to reel from surging volumes of coronavirus patients as the omicron variant drives a record-breaking flurry of infections in some regions — with medical workers bracing for more misery in the weeks ahead, the Washington Post reports.

The New York City health department reported that the seven-day average of confirmed and probable coronavirus cases there has climbed to 17,334 a day, the highest recorded levels of the pandemic, and a roughly tenfold increase from a month ago.

“The numbers look huge. But my guess is the true number is much, much higher,” said Craig Spencer, director of global health in emergency medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “It’s definitely missing a lot of people who are testing positive on rapid tests” and failing to report their results.

In Florida, Miami’s Jackson Health System reported that as of Monday morning, 212 people were hospitalized with covid, up from 37 on Nov. 30.