(Washington) The Omicron variant has become a large majority in the United States, accounting for 73.2% of new COVID-19 infections in the week ending Dec. 18, according to data from U.S. health officials.
The highly transmissible Omicron quickly gained the upper hand over the Delta variant. The week before, it only accounted for 12.6% of new infections.
It now accounts for up to 96.3% of new cases in three northwestern US states (Oregon, Washington and Idaho), according to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control.
In another group of southeastern states, including Florida, Alabama and Georgia, 95.2% of new infections are due to Omicron, a similar proportion in other parts of the country.
First detected in November in southern Africa, Omicron sparked concern and tightened health restrictions across the world.
The United States is not, however, considering “containment” for the moment, said spokeswoman for the US executive Jen Psaki, on the eve of a much-awaited speech by Joe Biden on his administration’s response to the issue. to this new epidemic wave.
“We are going to have difficult weeks or months as we approach winter,” White House adviser on the health crisis Anthony Fauci warned on Sunday, worrying about the number of Americans still unvaccinated. .
The mayor of London on Monday announced the cancellation of New Year’s festivities planned in his city, and the World Economic Forum, which was scheduled to meet from January 17 to 21 in Davos (Switzerland), has been postponed.