Coronavirus cases are being reported at record levels across the world — surpassing even last winter’s devastating peak in some places — as officials grapple with a surge caused by the omicron variant. France recorded more than 104,000 new cases Saturday, reaching a six-figure daily tally for the first time. Britain, Italy, Ireland and the Australian state of New South Wales also reported record-high levels of new cases over the weekend.

In the United States, the seven-day average of new daily cases was more than 203,000 on Sunday, according to a Washington Post tally, a level not seen since Jan. 19 last year. U.S. health officials warn that the country could soon see more than 1 million new cases per day, far beyond last winter’s peak of 248,000.

Hospitalizations and deaths from covid-19 have not risen as sharply, raising hopes that the omicron variant may not be as severe as the delta variant, though those figures typically lag days to weeks behind spikes in cases.

Still, some places in the United States are already hitting records: Washington D.C. is averaging more than 1,300 cases per day, far surpassing last winter’s peak of 322. Cases in Maryland have risen sharply, with the state averaging nearly 6,200 cases daily — nearly double its highest point last winter. New York state recorded more than 49,000 new cases on Sunday, its highest reported total yet during the pandemic, though testing was not widely available during the state’s first surge in early 2020.
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