The U.S. is now averaging more than 700,000 new coronavirus cases per day, a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows.
The country reported about 4.91 million cases in the week ending Saturday. That's more cases in seven days than in April, May, June and July 2021 combined.
Each of the last five days ranks in the top five of the entire pandemic for the highest case counts.
"I would not be surprised at all if we go over a million cases per day," Dr Anthony Fauci, the president's chief medical adviser, told News 4 New York in an interview Saturday.
While the prevalent omicron variant is milder on a per-case basis, fast-swelling numbers of new cases are burdening hospitals.
A federal report released Saturday shows about 138,000 COVID-19 patients in hospital beds, up 32% from the previous week.
