The influential American expert on infectious diseases, Anthony Fauci, stated that the further spread of omicron will bring increased pressure on hospitals, although early research shows that this variant of the virus causes a milder clinical picture in infected people.

"The problem is that when you have so many new infections, even though the hospitalization rate is lower in those infected with the omicron variant than in those infected with the delta variant, there is still a risk that you will have more hospitalizations," Fauci said in an interview with CNN, reports Reuters.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the omicron type is present in 58.6 percent of those infected with one of the existing variants of the coronavirus that has been circulating in the United States since December 25.

The sudden appearance of omicron brought a record number of cases of COVID-19 in many countries, so the New Year celebrations were spent with more significant restrictive measures.