Jan 1, 2021 – The United States started 2021 as it ended in 2020: setting new records amid the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 tracker, the country passed the 20 million mark for coronavirus cases on Friday, breaking the mark sometime around noon. The total number is almost twice that of the next worst country – India with 10.28 million cases.
Along with Fall County, more than 346,000 Americans have now died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. That’s 77% more deaths than Brazil, which ranks second in the world with 194,949 deaths.
More than 125,370 coronavirus patients were hospitalized on Thursday, the fourth record day in a row, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
According to official figures, it took the US 292 days to hit its first 10 million cases and only 54 days to double it, CNN reported.
Meanwhile, 12.41 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been distributed in the U.S. by Wednesday, according to the CDC. Still, only 2.8 million people received the first of two shots.
The launch of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines is slower than hoped because a new variant of the coronavirus has emerged in a third state. Florida officials announced a confirmed case of the new variant – believed to have originated in the UK – in Martin County in southeast Florida.
The state health department said on Twitter that the patient is a man in his twenties with no travel history. The department said it is working with the CDC to investigate.
The variant has also been confirmed in cases in Colorado and California. It is believed to be more contagious. The BBC reported that the new variant increased the reproduction or “R number” by 0.4 and 0.7. The most recent R number in the UK has been estimated at 1.1 to 1.3, which means anyone who has the coronavirus can expect it to be transmitted to up to 1.3 people.
Florida has evidence of the first identified case of the UK variant of COVID-19 in Martin County. The person is a man in his twenties with no travel history. The department is working with the CDC on this investigation. We encourage everyone to continue to practice COVID-19 mitigation.
– Florida Dept. Health (@HealthyFla) January 1, 2021
The R number must be below 1.0 for the virus to spread.
“There is a huge difference in how easily the virus spreads,” Professor Axel Gandy of London’s Imperial College told BBC News. “This is the most serious change in the virus since the epidemic began,” he added.
WebMD Health News
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BBC.com: “Covid-19: New variant ‘increases R number by up to 0.7′”
CNN.com: “US crosses 20 million Covid-19 cases as experts warn it will take months for vaccines to turn the tide”
John Hopkins University
The COVID tracking project
CDC.gov: “COVID-19 Vaccinations in the United States.”
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