#16,386
While the emerging Omicron variant continues to be the big news story, most of the damage we are seeing today around the globe is caused by the Delta variant, which remains dominant nearly everywhere. For all its hype, outside of Southern Africa, Omicron is still a minor player.
The Delta wave in Europe remains strong, and reports from the Northeastern United States show rising hospitalizations, but one of the most dramatic increases we've seen over the past week has been in South Korea (see South Korea Reports 5000+ COVID Cases For 2nd Day - Revokes Quarantine Exemptions For Vaccinated).
Today, for the 4th day in a row, South Korea reports more than 5,000 COVID cases, and set a new record of 5,353 cases and 70 deaths in a single 24 hour reporting period. The past 4 days COVID cases have all run more than 20% higher than South Korea's previous highs. and has jumped more than 70% since November 30th.
Daily New Cases according to the route of infection
Although a handful of Omicron cases have been detected in South Korea, this current spike - which began in mid-October - is almost certainly driven by the Delta variant.
Even if Omicron turns out to be less of a problem than is currently feared, we still have a tough winter with Delta - which may be potentially exacerbated by Influenza A - to get through.
