Nearly a fifth of all NYC COVID-19 cases were recorded in December 2021 amid the rapid spread of the Omicron variant

• Almost a fifth of all NYC COVID-19 cases were recorded in December 2021, CDC data shows.
• The city has recorded more than 270,000 positive cases in December.

Nearly one in five of the 1.44 million COVID-19 cases recorded in New York City since the start of the pandemic were recorded in December 2021, federal data shows.

The city has recorded more than 270,000 positive cases in December, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows.

The city's seven-day moving average hit a record 24,102 cases on Monday, the most-recent day for which CDC data is available. This is almost four times higher than the city's seven-day moving average at the height of last winter's peak.

Cases in New York State, excluding NYC, have also soared, but not all states have seen such a dramatic rise.

CDC data shows that case numbers in California are well below the state's peak last winter. It also shows that cases in Texas haven't yet caught up with the peaks it saw last winter and this September.

Daily cases in Florida have reached an all-time high, but the increase still hasn't been as dramatic as in New York City because the state has had multiple peaks during the pandemic. Around 9% of Florida's total COVID-19 cases were recorded in December.

Across the US as a whole, cases are rising. Around 8% of the 52.8 million of those recorded nationwide since the start of the pandemic were recorded in December, CDC data shows.

The rise in cases comes amid a global surge of the Omicron variant, which has become the dominant coronavirus strain in the US. Studies suggest that Omicron is more transmissible than previous variants and is capable of partially evading immunity provided by vaccines and prior infection. Some data indicates its symptoms are milder and that it could displace Delta by boosting immunity against the variant.

South Africa first reported the Omicron variant to the World Health Organization on November 24.

The surge in COVID-19 cases across New York City has led to the city's transit authority cutting back on some subways services, Apple closing its NYC stores, and fewer restaurant visits.