US Covid-19 deaths and hospitalisations are comparatively low despite a surge in cases as the highly infectious Omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads, Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky said.

The current seven-day daily average of cases is up 60 per cent over the previous week to about 240,400 per day, she said. The average daily hospitalisation rate for the same period is up 14pc to about 9,000 per day and deaths are down about 7pc at 1,100 per day, Walensky told reporters at a White House briefing.

“In a few short weeks Omicron has rapidly increased across the country, and we expect will continue to circulate in the coming weeks. While cases have substantially increased from last week, hospitalisations and deaths remain comparatively low right now,” she said.