COVID-19 cases surged in New York City and across the United States over the weekend, dashing hopes for a more normal holiday season, resurrecting restrictions and stretching the country's testing infrastructure ahead of holiday travel and gatherings.

The fast-spreading omicron variant of the coronavirus has become dominant in the United States with lightning speed, and claimed the life of an unvaccinated man in Texas on Monday, officials said.

The spike in COVID-19 cases is alarming public health officials, who fear an explosion of infections after the Christmas and New Year's holidays.