Atlanta, Georgia - The number of reported coronavirus infections in the United States has reached a new high, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

The CDC recorded an average 316,000 infections every day for the past seven days.

According to the CDC, this corresponds to an incidence of just under 700 per 100,000 inhabitants.

During the big Covid wave last December and January, the seven-day average of infections only rose to around 250,000 per day, according to CDC data.

A single-day record of almost 490,000 new coronavirus cases was reported in the US on Wednesday.

The number of cases has been rising rapidly since just before Christmas.

The authorities blame the particularly contagious Omicron variant. In some parts of the country, however, infections with the Delta variant continue to play an important role.

The number of people who are sick with Covid-19 in the US and need hospital treatment is significantly lower than during the summer's Delta wave or last winter.

According to the CDC, there are currently around 76,000 patients hospitalized with Covid-19. In January – when hardly anyone was vaccinated - there were as many as 125,000 patients.

The US' vaccination campaign has only made sluggish progress recently.

Studies have shown that a third dose of an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna) or a second dose of the Johnson & Johnson shot significantly improves protection against Omicron.