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(CNN) -
The sharp rise in COVID-19 cases fueled by the fast-moving omicron variant is unprecedented, according to one expert, as the United States records its highest daily infection rate since the start of the pandemic.
As of Wednesday, the country registered an average of 300,886 new cases of covid-19 a day, a new high for the pandemic, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
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The number of lives claimed by the virus has also increased this week by 18%, with an average of 1,546 deaths a day, according to the data.
People wait in long lines in Manhattan to get tested for COVID-19 on December 22, 2021 in New York City.
(Credit: Spencer Platt / Getty Images)
A global forecast from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published on Wednesday predicts that more than 44,000 people could die from COVID-19 in the next four weeks.
Ómicron is "it's different," says expert
In the nation's capital, Dr. James Phillips described the stress of the staff caring for patients who, for the most part, have mild symptoms and try to get tested in the emergency department.
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"It's unlike anything we've seen, not even at the peak of previous covid-19 waves," Phillips told CNN's Jim Acosta on Wednesday.
"What we are experiencing right now is an absolute overflow of emergency departments" in Washington, he said.
Personnel problems in hospitals
Phillips, who is chief of disaster medicine at George Washington University Hospital, noted that hospitals in the capital area are experiencing staffing problems due to omicron.
"While many of us were able to stay safe from contracting the delta variant and the earlier variants that have come down to us, omicron is affecting our hospital staff in an unprecedented way," Phillips said.
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In Louisiana, COVID-19 hospitalizations have tripled in the past two weeks, registering a record number of cases, according to the state.
Dr. Catherine O'Neal, chief medical officer at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, told CNN on Wednesday that patients at her hospital want to be tested but also suffer from symptoms.
"We are seeing an increase in admissions that is surprising," he said.
Many of the patients O'Neal sees are not vaccinated.
They usually have a more serious illness, with pneumonia, and need to be intubated or need high-flow oxygen.
Another group of patients, who have not been vaccinated or who are partially vaccinated, rather come with a type of flu-like illness, but are "fragile," he said.
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"They're older, they have heart failure, they have COPD, and they can't handle covid-19 even if they're vaccinated," O'Neal said.
"Fortunately, most of those people recover after a couple of days and go home, which is a good thing."
Hospitalizations are also peaking in Maryland, where 2,046 people were battling COVID-19 in a hospital as of Tuesday.
The state reported 10,873 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the highest number of new cases in a 24-hour period, according to state data.
Across the country, nearly 78% of beds in intensive care units are in use and 22% of them are occupied by COVID-19 patients, according to data from the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Nearly 62% of the total US population is fully vaccinated and 33% of them have received a booster shot, according to CDC data.
Covid-19micron