“Just like previous variants, omicron is hospitalizing people, and it is killing people.”

World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, rebutting claims that the omicron variant is “mild.” The nation’s seven-day average for new COVID cases is more than 585,000, a 247 percent increase from two weeks ago. (Ars Technica — Jan. 6, 2022)