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The Omicron surge has driven Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations to record highs in the United States. This week, however, officials have started to call out very early signs that the wave is peaking -- or at least plateauing -- in parts of the Northeast. But case rates are still higher in this region than any other, and experts say it will be weeks before any change can be declared a trend. The US overall is reporting an average of more than 786,000 Covid-19 cases each day, double what it was two weeks ago, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Yet, seven states have seen case rates start to level out, changing less than 10% week-to-week: New Jersey, Maryland, Ohio, Georgia, New York, Kansas and Mississippi. And in Washington, DC, they're down 19% from last week. But only in DC has this been a pattern for more than a week. (McPhillips, 1/13)

At another bleak moment of the pandemic in the United States — with nearly 800,000 new cases a day, deaths rising and federal medical teams deploying to overwhelmed hospitals — glints of progress have finally started to emerge. In a handful of places that were among the first to see a surge of the Omicron variant last month, reports of new coronavirus infections have started to level off or decline. Daily case reports have been falling rapidly around Cleveland, Newark and Washington, D.C., each of which sustained record-shattering spikes over the past month. There were also early signs in Chicago, New York, Puerto Rico and hard-hit ski resort towns in Colorado that cases were hitting a plateau or starting to drop. (Smith, Robertson and Imbler, 1/13)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicted Wednesday that more than 62,000 people could die from COVID-19 over the course of the next four weeks. In a Monday update, the agency wrote that 10,400 to 31,000 new deaths will likely be reported in the week ending Feb. 5. The CDC added that state- and territory-level ensemble forecasts predict the number of newly reported deaths per week over the next month will likely increase in 33 jurisdictions. In addition, it said that national forecasts predict 17,900-48,000 new hospitalizations will likely be reported on Feb. 4. (Musto, 1/13)

A Minnesota judge blocked a hospital from taking a patient with Covid-19 off life support Thursday, a day after his wife said she "vehemently" disagreed with doctors' decision, court records show. Anoka County Judge Jennifer Stanfield issued the temporary restraining order barring doctors at Mercy Hospital, north of Minneapolis, from removing the man, Scott Quiner, from a ventilator after they declined to provide treatment that his wife, Anne Quiner, had requested, her lawyer said in an interview. (Stelloh, 1/13)

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice is doing “100% better today than yesterday” after being diagnosed with COVID-19 late Tuesday, according to his chief of staff, Brian Abraham. The governor, who received monoclonal antibody treatments to stop progression of his illness on Wednesday, is still recuperating at his home in Greenbrier County. Abraham said he is “champing at the bit” to get back to the Capitol.“ You can still sense the tiredness in his voice, but he wants to be back in person. He’s wanting to come to work and is frustrated just sitting there. Of course, the medical folks said that wasn’t a good idea yet, and he’s listening to them, but we’re still talking about every half hour,” Abraham said. “The [monoclonal] antibody treatments really turned things around for him, and thank goodness for that.” (Coyne and Pierson, 1/13)

Conservative radio host Glenn Beck on Wednesday said he'd contracted COVID-19 for the second time and the virus was "getting into" his lungs. Speaking to Mark Levin on Levin's radio show, Beck said he's had the virus for about a week. He told Levin he was "great, except having COVID and seeing the destruction of our country." (Breslin, 1/13)

A petition signed by more than 200 scientists and medical professionals is calling on the music streaming service Spotify to monitor misinformation promoted on its platform. The petition specifically takes aim at its most-popular podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience, for peddling “misleading and false claims” about COVID-19 throughout the pandemic. “We are calling on Spotify to take action against the mass-misinformation events which continue to occur on its platform,” the petition reads. “With an estimated 11 million listeners per episode, JRE is the world’s largest podcast and has tremendous influence. Though Spotify has a responsibility to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform, the company presently has no misinformation policy.” (Bowker, 1/13)

The latest Covid-19 surge and the emergence of the Omicron variant left thousands with unexpected symptoms at the worst time. Multitudes had to cancel holiday plans and time with families. One isolation period later, many of those who recovered are confident they have emerged with greater protection, judging from what they hear from some medical professionals. And they have emerged with a newfound desire to live it up. (Carpenter and Janin, 1/13)