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Covid case surges have started to wane.
As of Sunday, the number of omicron cases peaked and is trending downward in 24 states and territories, plus Washington D.C., according to an NBC News analysis of Covid case numbers tallied from state and county health departments.
Case numbers nationwide declined to 706,000 average cases per day from a peak of 825,000 on Jan. 15. Five days later, average hospitalizations peaked at nearly 160,000, according to an NBC News analysis of Department of Health and Human Services data. Experts say hospitalization trends lag case trends by a few days.
The omicron wave, already in a retreat nationwide, will tail off in “most” states by mid-February, White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said in an interview Sunday.
“As we get into February … it is very likely that most of the states in the country will have turned around with their peak and are starting to come down with regard to cases and then obviously hospitalizations,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.”
Although nationwide numbers may be falling, experts say the prevalence of omicron remains serious. Cases and hospitalizations are still near pandemic-record levels. Hospitalizations are still rising in a majority of states.
