US sets new record for daily Covid cases as Omicron spreads across country

A startling 488,000 cases were reported Wednesday, but even that figure is likely an undercount of the true number

The United States set a new record for daily infections of Covid-19 after reporting almost half a million positive cases as the surge of the Omicron variant spreads across the country.

On Wednesday there were a startling 488,000 cases of the virus in the US, according to a New York Times database. However, even that figure is likely a serious undercount of the true numbers of positive cases due to the rising popularity of home tests and people who are infected but asymptomatic.

The Associated Press contributed to this report