COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations are "comparatively" low as the highly infectious Omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky said on Wednesday as cases in the United States reached a record high.

"In a few short weeks Omicron has rapidly increased across the country, and we expect will continue to circulate in the coming weeks. While cases have substantially increased from last week, hospitalizations and deaths remain comparatively low right now," she said, referring to overall cases.

The current seven-day daily average of cases is up 60% over the previous week to about 240,400 per day, she said. The average daily hospitalization rate for the same period is up 14% to about 9,000 per day and deaths are down about 7% at 1,100 per day, Walensky told reporters at a White House briefing.

The average number of daily confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States hit a record high on Wednesday.

U.S. CDC chief says hopes to decide on COVID boosters for 12-15 year-olds soon

Approval of a third COVID-19 vaccine dose for U.S. children aged 12-15 could be days or weeks away, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told CNN in an interview on Wednesday.

CDC investigating 86 cruise ships with reported Covid outbreaks

The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention is investigating or observing 86 cruise ships with reported Covid-19 outbreaks on board as the pandemic is reaching a new peak in the United States with record numbers of infections.

In addition to having already investigated 48 vessels, the agency has started investigating 38 ships, which according to its update, remain “under observation”.