New York and other north-eastern US states see a rapid fall in Covid cases

Despite decreasing positivity rates, hospitals continue to struggle amid a surging patient load and staff shortages

New York City and some north-eastern US states appear to be seeing rapid decreases in their numbers of Covid-19 cases in recent days, raising the possibility that the Omicron wave has now already peaked in some parts of America.

In New York City the rolling seven-day average of new cases was less than 28,000 a day on 16 January, down from an average of more than 40,000 on 9 January.