The U.S. has identified its second case of the new and more infectious Covid strain that was initially discovered in the United Kingdom. Colorado health officials on Tuesday announced that they detected the country's first known case and California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday said the new strain was detected in a 30-year-old man in San Diego County. Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the circulation of the new Covid-19 strain in the U.S. could further stress hospitals that are already overwhelmed with coronavirus patients.
The U.S. is recording at least 181,998 new Covid-19 cases and at least 2,313 virus-related deaths each day, based on a seven-day average calculated by CNBC using Johns Hopkins University data.
Here are some of the biggest headlines Thursday:
- U.S. hospitalizations surpass 125,000 for the first time
- NYC aims to vaccinate 1 million people next month
- Holidays boost air travel to highest since pandemic
- Officials investigate intentional spoiling of 500 Covid vaccine doses in Wisconsin
The following data was compiled by Johns Hopkins University:
- Global cases: More than 83.31 million
- Global deaths: At least 1.81 million
- U.S. cases: More than 19.94 million
- U.S. deaths: At least 345,015