The U.S. reported a record 1,082,549 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. It's the latest in a series of staggering milestones brought on by the highly transmissible omicron variant, which is sweeping across the U.S. and around the world.
The U.S. has broken several of its own COVID-19 records in recent days. Last week, Johns Hopkins reported more than 480,000 new cases in a single day, more than double the number of daily cases reported during the peak of the delta surge. The seven-day average topped 280,000. For reference: The country was averaging about 70,000 cases a day in early November.
Monday's rise could be due to delays in reporting over the holidays and probably includes tests conducted over the weekend. The 7-day daily average for infections is currently at 480,273 per day.
