Global coronavirus cases have surpassed 200,000 Wednesday morning and more than 8,200 have lost their lives since a novel virus appeared in the Hubei province of China late last year.
According to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University, more than 82,000 people have recovered from the virus.
As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, China tops the list with 81,102 cases, Italy has the second-highest number of cases with 31,506 and Iran comes next with 17,361.
All 50 states in the U.S. are now linked to the virus, with nearly 6,500 confirmed cases around the nation. West Virginia was the last state to report a coronavirus case Tuesday afternoon.
At least 100 people have died in the U.S., linked to the virus’s outbreak. Thirty of those individuals are linked to the Life Care Center in Kirkland, Wash., one of the first hotspots of community spread in the nation.
As test production ramps up around the nation, those numbers are expected to rise.
Health officials are warning of a grim winter as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 spreads rapidly across the country. New York City is the latest hotspot, with cases rising in a way the city hasn't previously seen in the pandemic. Dr. Bob Lahita, director of the Institute for Autoimmune and Rheumatic Diseases at St. Joseph Health and author of the book "Immunity Strong," joined Cheddar to discuss whether the rest of the country will follow in New York's footsteps.
Covid cases and deaths are on the rise in many parts of the country even before the Omicron variant takes hold. More than 30 states had higher seven-day averages for new cases last week than they did before Thanksgiving, according to Johns Hopkins University data, with some of the biggest increases in the Northeast. Dr. Anthony Santella, professor of Health Administration and University COVID Coordinator at the University of New Haven, joined Cheddar to discuss where we stand in the pandemic and how we can keep ourselves safe during the holidays.
Carlo's joined by a quarantining Baker to discuss the headlines from the weekend as Omicron spreads like wildfire, Manchin kills Biden's signature bill and Spider-Man throws a lifeline to the box office.
Authorities say at least five people died when a powerful storm system swept across the Great Plains and Midwest, spawning hurricane-force winds and likely tornadoes in Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota.
A gem company in Sri Lanka has unveiled a rare and massive gemstone weighing 683 pounds (310 kilograms) that has been certified as one of the biggest corundums ever found in the country.
