© 2026 KUNR
Illustration of rolling hills with occasional trees and a radio tower.
Serving Northern Nevada and the Eastern Sierra
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
From all of us at KUNR, KNCJ and KNCC Elko: Thank you for your support! 🌷

KUNR puts knowledge, news, music and culture out into the world — free for anyone to access — and we trust that people will see its value.
Readers and listeners like you did during our spring fund drive.

Your gift isn’t just a donation. It’s momentum — especially as we build our community support now that federal funding is gone for public media.
KUNR is 100% independent and 100% community supported — thanks to people like you! 🩷

Omicron is declining in South Africa. Here's what to expect in the United States

NPR
Published January 3, 2022 at 10:11 AM PST
A researcher at the Africa Health Research Institute in Durban, South Africa, works on the omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus on Dec. 15, 2021. (Jerome Delay/AP)
A researcher at the Africa Health Research Institute in Durban, South Africa, works on the omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus on Dec. 15, 2021. (Jerome Delay/AP)

The omicron-fueled surge of coronavirus cases in the United States continues unabated. The daily average is now more than 405,000 cases, and hospitalization rates are up 35% in just two weeks.

But across the world in South Africa, the opposite is happening. A month after omicron was first identified, cases have dropped by more than a third with many restrictions lifted, including travel and curfews.

So why are the cases dropping there and can we expect the same in the U.S.?

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong talks to Mia Malan, editor-in-chief at South Africa’s Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.