Some U.S. Hospitals See Covid-19 Patient Counts Decline as Omicron Retreats

Hospitals in early Omicron hot spots like New York and Washington, D.C., say the pressure is starting to ease, with many reporting fewer Covid-19 patients filling beds and smaller numbers of staff sidelined by infections. While these improvements follow declines in new Covid-19 case counts in parts of the U.S., health authorities have warned Omicron has yet to peak nationally, and hospitals around the country remain under significant strain from Covid-19 patient counts still at record levels. But there is also growing evidence Omicron’s surges, while explosive, can be short lived. “We’re really on that downturn,” said Terry Fairbanks, chief quality and safety officer at MedStar Health, a Washington, D.C.-area hospital system that had about 700 Covid-19 patients by Wednesday. The peak was 980 on Jan. 10.