Global weekly covid cases hit a record 10 mn as the surge in omicron infections smashed the previous record of 5.7 mn weekly cases, reported Bloomberg — and that’s without counting the rising number of people opting for at-home testing or not to test at all.

On the bright side: Weekly covid deaths continue to fall globally, adding weight to early evidence that omicron is less severe than other strains.

Many pundits are now suggesting we need to pay more attention to death and hospitalization rates with Omicron than we do to overall infection rates, given that omicron is generally less severe than illness caused by the delta variant — particularly in people who have already been vaccinated, boosted or previously infected.

The delta covid-19 variant remains the dominant strain in Egypt, despite the spread of omicron, head of the government’s covid committee, Hossam Hosni, said on Al Hadath Al Youm on Sunday (watch, runtime: 6:19). It is unclear how far omicron — a more transmissible though potentially less virulent variant of the virus — has penetrated Egypt, though Hosni said it is “rapidly spreading.”

The Health Ministry reported 723 new covid-19 infections yesterday, down from 801 the day before. Egypt has now disclosed a total of 387,882 confirmed cases of covid-19. The ministry also reported 20 new deaths, bringing the country’s total death toll to 21,817.