New cases of COVID-19 continue to explode in New York. On Jan. 1, the state reportedly notched its highest tally ever—85,476—and a positivity rate hovering around 20 percent. The Omicron variant has proved to be dramatically more transmissible than previous versions of the virus, though early studies suggest that generally speaking cases may be less severe. More broadly, the U.S. has also set records for new COVID cases in recent days, according to The New York Times. On Dec. 31, the country clocked 580,000 new diagnoses.