US Witnesses First Death Due To Omicron Variant, Says Report

Washington: A 50-year-old unvaccinated man is believed to be the first American casualty of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. On Monday, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo confirmed that the 50-year-old became the first to die from omicron in the county.

The death came at a time when omicron is spreading quickly across the United States, where delta was the dominant strain till recently.

There was 73.2 per cent of new Omicron cases in the week that ended on December 18. It increased from just 12.6 per cent a week earlier, according to CDC data released on Monday.

Almost every state has reported Omicron, and it accounts for about 90 per cent of new cases in some places — New York, the Southeast, and the Pacific Northwest.

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