Omicron updates: COVID outbreak reported on cruise ship docking in New Orleans
At least 10 people on board have tested positive for the virus.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.2 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 785,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
Just 59.6% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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1st omicron case in US identified in California
The first case of the omicron variant in the U.S. has been identified in California, the California and San Francisco Departments of Public Health said.
The CDC said the person traveled from South Africa on Nov. 22.
The individual tested positive on Nov. 29, Dr. Anthony Fauci said at a briefing Wednesday.
The individual, who was fully vaccinated, had mild symptoms that are improving, the CDC said.
"All close contacts have been contacted and have tested negative," the CDC said.
"We knew that it was just a matter of time before the first case of omicron would be detected in the United States," Fauci said.
Fauci cautioned not to read into the mild symptoms of this single case and said the person was fully vaccinated but not boosted.
US hospital admissions up 20%
COVID-19-related hospital admissions in the U.S. are up by 20% since the beginning of November, according to federal data. About one-quarter of the patients are between the ages of 18 and 49.
Nearly 58,000 Americans are in the hospital with COVID-19, including more than 1,300 children, according to federal data.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
New cases in South Africa nearly double in 1 day
In South Africa, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases reported 8,561 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday -- which is nearly double the 4,373 new cases reported on Tuesday.
Seventy-two percent of the new cases were diagnosed in Gauteng province. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Sunday that the omicron variant was responsible for most of the infections found in Gauteng over the last two weeks and that the variant is now showing up in all other provinces.
-ABC News' Christine Theodorou
Hospital admissions, deaths predicted to increase in weeks to come
Forecast models used by the CDC -- the COVID-19 Forecast Hub at UMass Amherst -- predict weekly death totals and hospital admissions to increase over the next four weeks.
The model predicts that more than 15,000 Americans will die over the next two weeks, with a total of nearly 810,000 deaths recorded by Christmas.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
3 omicron cases detected in Maryland
Three cases of the omicron variant have been detected in Maryland, all among Baltimore area residents, Gov. Larry Hogan said.
One of these people, who is vaccinated, recently traveled to South Africa. The second case is someone in their household who is not vaccinated, Hogan said.
The third case is unrelated; this person, who is vaccinated, has no recent travel, Hogan said.
No one required hospitalization, he said.