The BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron was estimated to be 23.1 percent of the coronavirus variants circulating in the United States as of March 12, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on March 15.

The number of new Covid-19 cases in the United States last week rose 24% to more than 485,000 while the number of tests performed rose 5.5%, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county reports.

New York, the former epicenter of the U.S. Covid-19 pandemic, became the fourth U.S. state to surpass half a million coronavirus cases amid a nationwide surge in infections.

Several large U.S. states are not heeding new federal health officials’ calls to reduce Covid-19 testing of some exposed to the virus, joining a broad rebuke of the Trump administration by public health leaders.

U.S. coronavirus deaths rose by over 25,000 in July and cases doubled in 19 states during the month, according to a Reuters tally, dealing a crushing blow to hopes of quickly reopening the economy.

The total number of people hospitalized in New York fell for the first time since the onset of the coronavirus outbreak, a further sign the state at the epicenter may be at the peak of its crisis, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday.

As a critical industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, biopharma companies are expected to remain in operation – but with a skeleton staff. Anticipating stay-at-home mandates, life sciences companies and labs in especially hard-hit regions had already begun preparing.