Headline RoundupJanuary 5th, 2022

US Records Over 1 Million New COVID-19 Cases in a Day, Setting Global Record

Summary from the AllSides News Team

The U.S. recorded more than 1 million COVID-19 new cases Monday, a single-day record for any country since the pandemic began.

The record 1,082,549 cases reported by Johns Hopkins University comes amid the spread of the contagious but apparently mild Omicron variant. It's nearly double the previous U.S. record of 590,000 cases set over the weekend. Hospitalizations are also rising, but much slower relative to new infections than during previous COVID-19 spikes. According to New York Times (Lean Left bias) data, the daily average of COVID-19 deaths has fallen 3% in the last two weeks despite the spike in new infections. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that Omicron accounted for over 95% of U.S. COVID-19 cases diagnosed last week. More than 56.1 million people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and 827,748 deaths have been reported.

Headlines were similar across the spectrum. Coverage from left- and center-rated outlets sometimes described Omicron as "highly mutated," and highlighted how infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said to "focus on the hospitalizations as opposed to the total number of cases" as "infections become less severe." Coverage from right-rated sources often focused on how Omicron is apparently more mild than other COVID-19 strains, and framed the Biden administration as deserving blame for COVID-19's continued prevalence. In an article that covered Tuesday's White House press briefing, Fox News (Right bias) said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki "shot back" at a reporter who asked if the country had lost control of the virus.

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