COVID-19 updates: 2 cases of omicron variant confirmed in Canada, officials say

The WHO classified omicron as a "variant of concern."

ByEmily Shapiro, Morgan Winsor, Meredith Deliso, and Ayushi Agarwal
Last Updated: November 29, 2021, 4:21 AM EST

As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.2 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 776,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

Just 59.1% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the new developed. All times Eastern.
Nov 24, 2021, 7:11 PM EST

New Hampshire to establish 'surge centers'

Amid a record-setting COVID-19 surge, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu signed an executive order allowing hospitals to establish temporary acute care centers, or internal "surge centers," in an effort to increase bed capacity.

"We are seeing record levels of cases; we're seeing record levels of hospitalizations. This winter surge that we predicted is unfortunately now rearing its ugly head. We are definitely in the throes of it," Sununu said during a press conference on Tuesday.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu attends an event in Portsmouth, N.H., Oct. 16. 2020.
Rich Beauchesne/Seacoastonline via USA Today Network

The state is also working to identify whether the National Guard can play a role in supporting hospitals.

"I think the next few weeks are going to be very telling. I think it's going to be a fairly bumpy road. We just want everyone to be vaccinated. Be safe because the system right now is at an emergency point," Sununu added.

The governor made clear that this executive order is not a state of emergency.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Nov 24, 2021, 12:13 PM EST

Daily case average up 46% since October

Hospital admissions in the U.S. are up by 15% over the last two weeks, according to federal data.

In this Sept. 7, 2021, file photo, a healthcare worker tends to a patient on a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit of Baptist Health Floyd in New Albany, Ind.
Jon Cherry/Getty Images, FILE

Ashtin Kubec, an emergency room nurse is shown at MidMichigan Medical Center, in Alma, Mich., Nov. 20, 2021.
Nik Antaya/The New York Times via Redux

These states and Washington, D.C, have seen at least a 10% increase in hospital admissions over the last week: Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin.

The U.S. daily case average has jumped by more than 46% since late October, according to federal data.

The Northeast and Midwest are seeing the greatest increase in cases and hospitalizations.

In Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, case averages are up 30%.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Nov 24, 2021, 11:23 AM EST

Deaths, hospitalizations predicted to increase in weeks to come

Forecast models used by the CDC suggest that weekly deaths and hospital admissions will rise over the next four weeks -- the first increase in U.S. death rates and hospital admissions since the summer surge.

U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Jesse Van Tassell, a registered nurse assigned to Monoclonal Antibody Infusion Team Utah, adjusts a patient's intravenous fluids input data at a COVID treatment site in St. George. Utah, Nov. 12, 2021.
Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Hughes/U.S. Army

A member of the Orange County Fire Rescue unit wears a face mask to help curb the spread of COVID-19 outside an emergency room entrance at Orlando Health--Health Central Hospital on Nov. 16, 2021, in Ocoee, Fla.
Phelan M. Ebenhack via AP

Nearly 15,000 more Americans could die from COVID-19 over the next two weeks, according to the forecasts.

The CDC obtains the forecasts from the COVID-19 Forecast Hub at UMass Amherst, which monitors and combines forecasting models from the nation’s top researchers.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Nov 24, 2021, 10:33 AM EST

89% of DHS workers have had at least 1 shot

Nearly 89% of workers at the Department of Homeland Security, an agency that includes airport security workers and the president’s Secret Service detail, have received at least one vaccine dose, according to the White House.

In this May 25, 2016, file photo, bins containing bags needing additional screening are automatically separated on a conveyer belt at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta.
David Goldman/AP, FILE

Ninety-two percent of federal workers have received at least vaccine dose, according to the White House. Just under 5% of the federal workforce has requested an exemption or extension to the vaccine mandate.

The White House has not said how many workers have met Biden’s deadline of being “fully immunized” by Nov. 22. That would have required workers to get their final dose on Nov. 8.

Related Topics