Johns Hopkins says that the U.S. recorded a stunning 1 million new COVID-19 cases on Monday as the omicron variant fuels previously unseen levels of transmission throughout the country.

The 1 million cases recorded on Monday shatters the previous daily case record of 590,000, which Johns Hopkins says was set on Thursday. Before the arrival of the highly contagious omicron variant, the record for the number of daily cases in the U.S. was just under 300,000, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says occurred on Jan. 8, 2021.

The number of those infected with COVID-19 is likely higher, as not every person infected seeks out a test and not all home tests are recorded.

The surge in new cases has caused a significant disruption in the U.S. workforce, as hundreds of thousands of people stay home to isolate themselves as they deal with infections. The CDC recently slashed the recommended isolation time from 10 days to five days in the hopes of returning more people to the workforce.

Top U.S. health experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci say that as of last week, all signs point to omicron causing a less severe COVID-19 infection. And while the variant has shown to be more able to evade vaccines, the shots still provide significant protection against severe infection and death.

Johns Hopkins

However, Fauci warned that omicron should "not be taken lightly," as its highly contagious nature could result in case rates that overwhelm health systems in certain parts of the country — particularly in areas with low rates of vaccination.

Indeed, the CDC reports that the U.S. is beginning to see an increase in hospitalizations linked to the surge in omicron. New hospitalizations have increased 45% in the past seven days, though the good news is that they have not yet reached the high levels seen last winter despite the record number of infections.

The CDC reports that deaths have remained relatively stagnant in the past week and have even dropped slightly. However, increases in the death rate typically lag a few weeks behind increases in new cases and hospitalizations.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — COVID-19 cases are surging across the country and the coronavirus is no longer mainly impacting older Americans, but rather, younger.

"In our ICUs, we're seeing younger people intubated who are very sick or who are on the floors and are very sick,” said Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, an infectious diseases professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “That should be a gigantic wake-up call."

Another wake-up call: researchers at Johns Hopkins University just completed their seventh round of COVID-19 case projections. It is something they have worked on since the start of the pandemic.

“What we're trying to do with this is really fill the gap of that longer time span – so, looking out six months,” said Dr. Shaun Truelove of the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub.

The hub fast forwards to what the virus might bring for the country in cases and in deaths by the end of the year.

In the best-case scenario, which is a high vaccination rate coupled with a variant with low transmission, COVID-19 cases only rise by 3 million through the end of the year, along with an additional 32,000 deaths.

Best-case scenario

• Current U.S. COVID-19 cases – 33.6 million
• Jan. 1, 2022 case projection in U.S. – 36.5 million

• Current U.S. COVID-19 deaths – 605,362
• Jan. 1, 2022 death projection in U.S. – 637,984

However, that best-case scenario runs into two problems. First, COVID-19 vaccination rates right now are stagnant.

“The challenge we're seeing now is that vaccination is slowing down because of uptake, issues of hesitancy, people not being willing to get vaccinated,” Dr. Truelove said.

The second problem is the delta variant is highly transmissible and the dominant COVID-19 strain in the U.S. now, accounting for 83% of all cases in the country.

“What we're seeing because of that, and because of this stagnation of vaccination, is that we do expect there to be some resurgence in the fall,” Dr. Truelove said.

In the worst-case scenario researchers looked at, which would include lower vaccination rates and a highly transmissible virus like the Delta variant, COVID-19 cases rise much higher: by more than 7 million through the end of the year. There would also be more than 95,000 additional COVID-19 deaths, which is triple the number of the best-case scenario.

Worst-case scenario

• Current U.S. COVID-19 cases - 33.6 million
• Jan. 1, 2022 case projection in U.S. – 40.8 million

• Current U.S. COVID deaths - 605,362
• Jan. 1, 2022 death projection in U.S. – 700,635

Researchers say what all of this means is the more people who choose to get vaccinated the less likely the worst-case projection – and many more deaths – becomes a reality.

“While these resurgences are not necessarily to the same level that we saw in winter 2021, they are substantial enough to be concerned about and aware of,” Dr. Truelove said.

It’s information that Johns Hopkins researchers hope will reach those who need to hear it.

BALTIMORE — Months after their COVID-19 infections, patients are experiencing what’s known as 'Long COVID,' but now some are seeking treatment who never tested positive or got sick.

"My heart goes out to these patients who are just human beings trying to make sense of their symptoms," said Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos, a lung doctor at Johns Hopkins.

Galiatsatos, known as Dr. G, works at the Post-Acute COVID-19 Clinic at Hopkins. Since last May, they’ve seen hundreds of patients. Most are experiencing ongoing symptoms after a battle with COVID-19, but some never knew they had COVID and have been sick for months with no answers.

"They [patients] are like, 'I didn’t feel well. It wasn’t horrible and it didn’t send me to the hospital. I just didn’t feel well. And it just felt like the bad flu or a bad cold'," said Dr. G.

They didn’t test positive for COVID either due to lack of access to testing, lack of symptoms, or a false negative result.

"Then they kind of speak to I’ve never felt the same way again," said Dr. G.

Experts don’t yet know what causes long COVID or why some people have persistent symptoms while others recover.

As the CDC investigates the full spectrum of COVID, including long-term effects, Post-Acute COVID Care Clinics are being established at medical centers across the country, bringing together multidisciplinary teams to provide a comprehensive treatment approach COVID-19 aftercare.

"The multidisciplinary approach catches what certain physicians would miss, so you get psychology, psychiatry, physical medicine, and rehabilitation," said Dr. G.

In some cases, a positive test result isn’t vital to get help, so Dr. G says be your own advocate.

"If you’re sitting there struggling with symptoms that you’re finding your health care professional is struggling to put them together, ask to investigate if this could be post-COVID-19 through some simple blood work testing," said Dr. G.

Antibody testing could show what’s been missed all along, that patients once had COVID and are now suffering from 'Long COVID.'

"It’s a breath of fresh air because it’s some understanding of why they are here and as one of my patients said, 'It’s not all in my head'," said Dr. G.

A physician referral is required for an appointment in the JH clinic. For more information about the requirements, click here.

Abby Isaacs at WMAR first reported this story.