• The US recorded 900,832 new COVID cases on Friday, the second highest day ever after record set Monday 
  • Deaths jumped to 2,615 for the day, a 22% increase from a week ago on a rolling average basis 
  • One expert estimates 5 million people in the US may be calling out sick next week, some 3% of the workforce
  • Disruptions are forcing some businesses into de facto lockdown because they lack the staff to operate
  • Most forecasts suggest that the Omicron surge will not peak in the US until late in January
  • Dr. Fauci said on Friday that the US could soon be regularly recording 1 million new cases of COVID each day
  • Explosion of Omicron-fueled infections in the US is already causing a breakdown in basic services 

As infections surge, the nation watches closely for signs of a peak, which still appears to be several weeks out.

The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation forecasts that infections will peak in the final days of January, when they predict some 38 million Americans will be actively infected with COVID.

In South Africa, where Omicron was first identified, infections have fallen sharply off their peak in mid-December. In the UK, which is a few weeks ahead of the US in the Omicron surge, infections are still rising despite hopes of a peak in London.

The number of people in the UK hospitalized with COVID-19 rose to 18,454 on Thursday, more than double the figure two weeks earlier.

Meanwhile in the US, the current explosion of Omicron-fueled coronavirus infections in the U.S. is already causing a breakdown in basic functions and services.

In New York City, employee shortages are causing delays in trash and subway services, and diminishing the ranks of firefighters and emergency workers.

Airport officials shut have down security checkpoints at the biggest terminal in Phoenix and schools across the nation struggle to find teachers for their classrooms.

‘This really does, I think, remind everyone of when COVID-19 first appeared and there were such major disruptions across every part of our normal life,’ said Tom Cotter, director of emergency response and preparedness at the global health nonprofit Project HOPE.

‘And the unfortunate reality is, there´s no way of predicting what will happen next until we get our vaccination numbers – globally – up.’

First responders, hospitals, schools and government agencies have employed an all-hands-on-deck approach to keep the public safe, but they are worried how much longer they can keep it up if infections keep rising.