The District is heading into Christmas with COVID-19 infections at an all-time high — averaging more than 1,300 cases a day over the past week.

The city’s daily rate of new COVID cases — 186 out of 100,000 people — is higher than any state in the country, according to data from the New York Times. That figure also puts D.C. as the sixth worst in the country when compared to county-level jurisdictions, the data shows.

The District’s per-capita numbers this week surpassed those in New York City, the first epicenter of the United States’ omicron outbreak. Earlier this week, D.C. recorded a weekly case rate of 1,192 cases per 100,000 people —compared to New York City’s case rate of 1,059 per 100,000 people, according to that city’s official data.

D.C. recorded 508 new cases of COVID-19 last Thursday, a number higher than the city had seen at any stage of the pandemic. But the numbers only snowballed from there, reaching a new record of 1,904 new cases on Thursday. Over the past week, the 7-day average of new cases increased by 385 percent.

So far, the new cases have not led to a surge in hospitalizations. As of Wednesday, the most recent data available, D.C. hospitals were treating 188 COVID-19 patients, 24 of whom were in the ICU — and the percentage of COVID-19 cases requiring hospitalizations was 2.4%, less than half what it was a month ago when case counts were significantly lower.

Federal health officials have said they expect the omicron variant of the coronavirus, which is significantly more contagious than previous variants, to result in unprecedented case counts. What’s currently unclear is how many of those cases will lead to serious illness.

Early research suggests that the variant may result in fewer hospitalizations than previous variants — and health experts say that people who are vaccinated and boosted have good protection against serious illness. But health experts warn that the virus is infecting so many people that it may still send many patients — particularly those who are unvaccinated — to hospitals and test the capacity of health systems.

Neil J. Sehgal, a public health professor at the University of Maryland, told DCist/WAMU earlier this week that the region will likely start to see the impact of the COVID-19 surge on hospitalizations next week, between Christmas and New Year’s.

“Certainly for fully vaccinated and boosted people, hospitalization and death are not the likely outcome of a breakthrough infection,” said Sehgal. “But our vaccination rates in the District aren’t as high as we want them to be, so there are certainly a lot of vulnerable people.”

Maryland set its own record on Thursday, with 6,869 new cases of COVID-19. The state’s counts over the past week have been nearly double what they were during the last major surge of COVID-19 in January 2021. Citing data issues, Montgomery County and Prince George’s County have not reported new COVID-19 numbers since Dec. 4.

The state reached a threshold of 1,500 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 on Thursday — which, according to the state’s pandemic plan, means hospitals should start taking steps to free up their capacity, including reducing non-urgent and elective surgeries.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who tested positive for the virus and contracted a mild case himself earlier this week, has pointed to projections that indicate the state could “reach record levels” of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the coming weeks, an issue compounded by staffing attrition at hospitals during the pandemic. Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks also announced Friday that she had tested positive for the virus.

Virginia recorded 6,473 cases on Thursday, bringing the commonwealth close to the records for new cases it set during last winter’s surge. Several jurisdictions in Northern Virginia, like Arlington and Alexandria, have set all-time records in recent days.

In response to the rise in cases, some local governments have announced new steps to increase access to rapid tests and reimpose certain restrictions.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser reimposed the city’s indoor mask mandate. Bowser announced this week that businesses — including restaurants, bars, gyms, and music venues — must institute vaccination requirements for their patrons starting in mid-January. (Many businesses have already been enforcing their own mandates). The city also started distributing free rapid COVID-19 tests at public libraries — a program that got off to a somewhat chaotic start but quickly became a relatively convenient option for securing rapid tests ahead of the holidays.

So far, officials in Maryland and Virginia have not changed masking rules in response to the spike in cases. (Montgomery County is reportedly considering enacting a vaccine mandate for certain businesses in the coming weeks.)

Maryland has launched an at-home testing program. Fairfax and Arlington counties have also been distributing tests through a program with the Virginia Department of Health, though supply has been an issue and they are currently unavailable.

During the surge, some local businesses have temporarily shut their doors because of staff testing positive for the virus or out of caution. Churches across the region moved their Christmas services online, citing concerns about the rate at which COVID-19 case counts have been rising in the region.

More than two dozen D.C. Public Schools campuses closed early ahead of the holidays because of rising COVID-19 cases. The school system will also delay its return to campuses in January by two days to give students and teachers a chance to test themselves for COVID-19 — though some teachers, parents, and students have been asking for stricter measures to control the rapid spread of the virus through schools.

Many public COVID-19 testing sites are closed over the weekend because of the Christmas holiday. In addition, the proliferation of rapid COVID-19 tests may mean that some people are testing positive at home and not reporting their results — a situation that experts have warned may be artificially keeping numbers a bit lower than they are. D.C. officials have asked people to self-report their at-home test results through an online form.

More:
Where To Get A COVID-19 Test In D.C.
Some D.C. Businesses Will Be Required To Check Proof Of Vaccination Starting January 15
The D.C. Region Is Shattering COVID Case Records