WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - As the new omicron Covid-19 variant starts its onslaught across the globe, more than 48 million people have been infected in the U.S. with deaths crossing 777,000.
Globally, the coronavirus has infected nearly 262 million people and has taken lives of over 5.2 million people, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
The US reported 70,093 new confirmed cases and 729 deaths on Sunday. Just 59.1% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While, 19.1% or 37.5 million people have received a booster dose.
Health experts expect to see an increase in number of infections going forward, due to Thanksgiving holiday, when millions of Americans traveled and gathered together to celebrate.
Meanwhile, the world is facing another challenge caused by the new omicron variant, which was detected in Canada on Sunday, its first identification in North America.
US President Joe Biden on Monday said that the omicron variant is a 'cause for concern, not a cause for panic.'
'We'll fight this variant with scientific and knowledgeable actions and speed -- not chaos and confusion,' Biden said. 'We have more tools today to fight the variant than we ever had before, from vaccines to boosters to vaccines for children.'
Biden on Monday said he doesn't expect the U.S. to impose additional travel restrictions to stem the spread of the omicron Covid-19 variant.
The U.S. on Monday began to temporarily restrict visitors from South Africa, where scientists first reported the omicron variant, and from Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Malawi.
The degree of the variant's spread will determine whether more travel restrictions are necessary, Biden said.
Biden's Chief Medical Adviser Anthony Fauci on Sunday said the US has 'the potential to go into a fifth wave' of coronavirus infections amid rising cases and stagnating vaccination rates.
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