Coronavirus cases in the US are expected to jump 55% to 1.3million weekly by Christmas Day, according to a grim new prediction by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Additionally, deaths could reach 15,600 per week by early January.

The CDC in its projections on Wednesday afternoon estimated that 620,000 to 1.3million Americans will have contracted Covid-19 by the week ending December 25. Meanwhile, hospitalizations are on pace to hit 18,400.

Deaths are expected to rise 73% from the 8,001 recorded over the past seven days. By January 8, ‘a total of 837,000 to 845,000 Covid-19 deaths will be reported’, the CDC said.

The predictions come as the new Omicron variant spreads across the nation. The strain first detected in southern Africa has been found at higher rates in New York and New Jersey than the rest of the US, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said on Wednesday.

A top epidemiologist at the Mayo Clinic, Dr Gregory Poland, warned that a surge in coronavirus cases fueled by the Omicron variant could hit in the coming weeks.

‘As best any of us can model, we will have an explosion of cases after the holidays in the in the early-to-mid-January timeframe,’ Poland told the Daily Mail.  

‘This variant is hyper transmissible, it spreads exponentially in an environment of cold weather, massive holiday get togethers, no masking and insufficient immunization.’ 

Experts have warned that the Omicron variant has a ‘rather profound’ ability to overcome the protection of vaccines.

A recent study from South Africa found that Omicron spread quicker than other Covid-19 variants but it 20% less likely to result in hospitalization.

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