the pattern and disparity between cases and hospitalizations strongly suggest that there will be a lower hospitalization to case ratio when the situation becomes more clear. still, dr. fauci says do not be complacent. the rise in cases still has the potential to overwhelm hospitals, at least in some parts of the country, especially those with low vaccination rates. those milestones we mentioned, more than 53 million total cases now confirmed across the united states. and a new record in the number of daily infections, now averaging more than 262,000 cases a day. that is prompting colleges and school districts around the country to reexamine their safety protocols. washington, dc just announced school kids will be required to show a negative test before returning back from winter break next week. also today, the cdc is trying to clear up some of the confusion over its new guidelines that says asymptomatic people can isolate five days instead of ten. we re going to ask ou
need to have society not disrupted, this was a good choice. meanwhile the number of new covid cases keeps climbing. the seven day average for new cases nationwide hitting levels we haven t seen since back in january when vaccinations still weren t widely available. joining me now from delaware, mike memoli, and in washington, d.c. where daily cases are ten times higher than just two weeks ago, and emergency room dr. spencer is with us. and mike, we ll start with you. the cdc s updated guidance on isolation and guarantee teams, cutting to five days from ten. and how much pressure was on the administration to adjust these guidelines and how are they messaging it now? reporter: yeah, i really want to highlight one word that you heard specifically from dr. fauci there in that interview with kristen welker yesterday, it was that word balance. it has been clear as the biden administration has been sort of coordinating its covid response over the last few months in particular, t
it is monday, december 27th. we start with several late breaking coronavirus developments. cases are surging. and the break in records. dr. fauci warning cases of the rapidly spending omicron variant will keep going up. with the country averaging 200,000 new covid cases every day. very well may be that focusing on hospitalizations as the parameter to follow and if they stay low and do not go back up but we are not there yet. we get increases in hospitalizations so we better be careful to think we are in good shape when we still need to be extremely careful getting people vaccinated and boosted, making sure we wear masks. we are in a tough situation. new york setting a record on christmas eve. nearly 50,000 people tests positive for covid and concerns of kids. the number of child hospitalizations from covid-19 quadrupling in new york city in recent weeks. with other cities on edge. renewing calls for parents to get the kids vaccinated. and then to top it all off, scores of
christmas eve and that s with testing shortages. and none of the data includes results from those at-home covid tests. the nation overall is averaging 200,000 new cases each day right now. also concerns are growing around the risks for children. there s still a lot we don t know about the severity of omicron and people without immunity like kids who haven t been vaccinated. what we do know is the number of child hospitalizations for covid have quadrupled in new york city in recent weeks. nbc s mike memoli is traveling with the president in delaware. also with us is an epidemiologist from fielding school of public health. mike, we ll start with you in delaware. what did president biden say about what he s doing to shore up testing supplies and hospital resources? reporter: the president touched down here in delaware in the last hour. he s expected to remain here for the holiday week. his last order of business in the white house for 2021 was the same order of business that h
is, could we see new restrictions put in place? and new reporting on the document that ended up in mark meadows inbox about overturning the 2020 election. his lawyer says he had nothing to do with it. the question is, did he meet with someone who did? way too early for this week. good morning. welcome to way too early the show thinking about all those impacted by the severe weather the last few days. we ll start with the news. the search for survivors continues after a series of devastating tornadoes spanning six states, close to 50 people are confirmed dead. a number that is expected to rise. after the storms touched down in kentucky, illinois, tennessee and missouri, they wreaked havoc friday and early saturday morning. in edwardsville, illinois, six people were killed when an amazon warehouse was hit. a similar tragedy in kentucky, the state with the most widespread damage. eight people were killed while working in a candle factory. to the people of america, there