With the highly transmissible omicron variant of the coronavirus wreaking havoc across the world, global COVID-19 infections hit a record high on Monday, with as many as 1.44 million cases reported. Even the seven-day rolling average of daily COVID-19 infections is at a record level, at 841,000, a 49% jump from a month earlier when the omicron variant was first identified by South African researchers.

The omicron variant is the fifth major strain of COVID-19 according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Scientific studies suggest that the omicron variant evades the immunity granted by COVID-19 vaccines and infects 70 times faster than the earlier variants of the coronavirus, although the symptoms are mild and often do not require hospitalisation. However, given the pace at which the virus is spreading, there is a risk of healthcare systems getting overwhelmed.

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Governments around the world have been reluctant to resort to lockdowns that were common in pre-vaccine times and the continuation of normal life may have helped the spread of the virus, with the omicron variant becoming the dominant strain in most places. Although some restrictions have been put in place in anticipation of crowds during the holiday season, authorities have warned that the number of new infections may surge sharply over the next couple of weeks.

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Going into 2022, the virus is projected to become the dominant strain globally and public health officials around the world are scrambling to devise appropriate protocols to contain the spread of the virus further.

The silver lining, however, is that deaths have not spiked, and the the seven-day rolling average has remained around 7,000 since mid-October after declining from a peak when the delta variant was driving up infections.