Omicron Surge Pressures U.S. Hospitals

The latest data are inflated by a surge in Texas cases reported all at the same time after the state cleaned up, and added to, its 2020 case total. At the same time, the rise in at-home testing that is often not captured in state data reports has added to an incomplete picture of the true level of infections, health and data experts say.

Omicron’s rapid spread through communities means many people are showing up at hospitals with other health problems before testing positive for Covid-19. The health department in New York, which has broken out data on this effect at the statewide level, has advised against discounting such infections as incidental or harmless, since it may not be apparent right away that Covid-19 was an aggravating factor for some patients.

The seven-day average for reported Covid-19 deaths is 1,776 a day, Johns Hopkins data show. Recent data disruptions have made it difficult to determine the trend in deaths, although the average is up more than 600 since before Thanksgiving, when the holidays caused reporting delays. The average for reported Covid-19 deaths briefly topped 2,100 in September, during the surge caused by the Delta variant.

Los Angeles County said more than 28,000 residents have died from cases linked to Covid-19 since the pandemic began almost two years ago.

The county’s public health office registered 66 deaths linked to the coronavirus Saturday, the biggest daily number since early last April and a fourfold increase from one week earlier. Most deaths linked to Covid-19 in the past week were among people who got infected after Dec. 20, when the new Omicron variant was widely circulating.

The public health office said the recent jump in hospitalizations and “the extraordinarily high number of new cases reflects worrisome rates of community transmission.”

In France, lawmakers are expected Sunday to pass a bill supported by President

Emmanuel Macron

that would bar the unvaccinated from entering restaurants, cafes and many other public venues, rather than allowing them to enter by showing a negative test.

The vote comes after some 54,000 people on Saturday took part in protests in French cities against tightening restrictions on those who reject a Covid-19 vaccination, according to the Interior Ministry. That was about half as many people across the country as last week, when protesters vented against Mr. Macron’s recent comment that, “The unvaccinated, I really want to piss them off.”

French case rates remain high, but authorities said that the number of Covid-19 patients in intensive care appears to be falling.

In the Netherlands, the government on Saturday relaxed some Covid-19 restrictions imposed in November when the Delta variant risked overwhelming hospitals. Although the number of cases linked to the Omicron variant is rising, hospitalizations are falling.

Dutch restrictions were eased for schools, sports, artistic and cultural activities, nonessential shops and contact-based industries such as hairdressers. Rules on the use of face masks were tightened. The Dutch government plans later this month to reassess rules in light of Omicron and consider further relaxations.

Germany and Italy appear to be following other countries, where hospitalizations aren’t tracking soaring Omicron case numbers. Despite a record number of new cases over several days, hospitalization rates have stayed at a manageable level since the start of the year. Some regions are bucking the trend. In Berlin, the number of Covid-19 patients in local hospitals hit its highest level this year, with authorities warning that the large influx of patients could be underestimated as hospitals are struggling to process the data.

In Italy, Franco Locatelli, a physician who heads a health ministry advisory board, told the daily Corriere Della Sera that “there is evidence of a clear deceleration of the epidemic curve.” He said pressure on health facilities was increasing, but that hospitalizations were only half of what they had been last winter, which he attributed to Italy’s success in vaccination.

In the U.K., the government said booster shots would be made available to 16- and 17-year-oldsin England as it seeks to provide protection against the Omicron variant. Before the spread of Omicron, the state-funded National Health Service in England had limited booster shots to people 18 and older. However, it said recent data indicates that two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine aren’t enough to prevent people from becoming unwell from Omicron, while a third shot significantly increases protection.

Write to Jon Kamp at jon.kamp@wsj.com and Nick Kostov at Nick.Kostov@wsj.com