Despite the increase in cases, predictions indicate there will be fewer daily deaths than during last winter's devastating peak. The forecast for California projects as many as 150 COVID-19 deaths a day by the end of February, a rate similar to the peak of the summer Delta wave. Still, that is far less than last winter's surge, when California was tallying 550 deaths a day. Increased mask use could result in substantially fewer coronavirus cases, COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths, the forecast says. He said he expects a peak in Omicron cases within a matter of weeks, followed by "just as dramatic a decline."
