WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths are surging again across the United States before holidays, prompting some universities to return to online classes and states to adopt new mask and vaccine mandates.
The case surge also led to cancellation of Broadway shows and postponement of professional sports leagues games.
The country is averaging about 118,000 new cases daily, with as high as nearly 200,000 cases reported nationwide this Monday, CDC data show.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are up 46 percent from one month ago, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Several colleges have shifted classes and exams online amid infections surge. Cornell University, which reported 930 positive cases this week alone, including some with the Omicron variant, has moved final exams online and canceled all in-person events as of Tuesday.
Princeton University in New Jersey has also moved finals online, to enable students to leave for home as soon as possible.
Last week, Middlebury College in Vermont moved to remote instruction for the rest of the semester.
New York University (NYU) has canceled all "nonessential" gatherings and events both on and off campus. NYU is also among a growing number of colleges that will mandate booster shots to return to campus for the spring semester, in an effort to better control the Omicron variant.
Some states have implemented new mandates in face of the threat of a winter surge. A reinstated indoor mask mandate went into effect Wednesday in California, the most populous state in the United States, amid rise in COVID-19 cases.
The state, home to around 40 million residents, will require masks to be worn in all indoor public settings irrespective of vaccine status through Jan. 15, 2022, at which point public health officials will make further recommendations as needed in response to the pandemic.
New York State Governor Kathy Hochul announced last Friday masks will be required to be worn in all indoor public places unless businesses or venues implement a vaccine requirement. The new rules went into effect on Monday.
Health experts said the rising COVID-19 cases are driven partly by the Delta and the Omicron variants which have been spreading rapidly across the United States.
The Omicron variant, which is possibly more contagious than the Delta variant, had been found in at least 38 U.S. states as of Thursday, since the first case in the country was detected in California on Dec. 1.
Top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said the Omicron variant is going to be dominant in the United States, given its doubling time. Enditem
