As the world welcomes the New Year, the coronavirus pandemic continues to grow, with authorities announcing that a variant of the virus first discovered in the United Kingdom has appeared in several areas of the United States.
On the last day of 2020, the US exceeded 20 million confirmed cases of coronavirus. The country has also seen more than 345,000 deaths from viruses since the beginning of the pandemic, according to an NBC News report.
Here are the latest coronavirus updates from the US and elsewhere:
California recorded 585 virus deaths in one day
California began the new year, reporting a record 585 coronavirus deaths in a single day.
The State Department of Public Health said on Friday that more than 47,000 new confirmed cases had been reported, bringing the total to more than 2.29 million.
State hospitals have ended the year “on the brink of disaster,” a health official said, as the pandemic pushed deaths and diseases to staggering levels, and some medical centers rushed to provide oxygen for the seriously ill.
Getty Images A COVID-19 safety indicator is displayed at the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort in Newport Beach, CA on Thursday, December 17, 2020. (Photo by Paul Bersebach / MediaNews Group / Orange County Register via Getty Images)
Governor Gavin Newsom’s office announced Friday that California will begin working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate and upgrade outdated oxygen delivery systems at six hospitals in Los Angeles.
The collaboration comes as older hospitals have difficulty maintaining oxygen pressure in aging infrastructure, and some are struggling to locate additional oxygen tanks for outpatients to take home.
This week, California became the third state to exceed 25,000 COVID-19 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
December was the deadliest, most infectious month since the beginning of the pandemic in the US
The United States closed 2020 with the deadliest and most infectious month since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, also surpassing 20 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, NBC News reported.
More than 77,000 people lost their lives in December to COVID-19, while 6.4 million contracted the virus amid a new virus and delayed efforts to vaccinate people. The second deadliest month was April 2020, with more than 58,000 deaths.
Funeral set for the US elected deputy who contracted COVID-19
Funeral services will be held Saturday for a Louisiana-elected congressman who died of COVID-19 complications. Republican Luke Letlow died Tuesday. He was 41 years old, and his filing was scheduled for Sunday.
His funeral will be at North Monroe Baptist Church, The News-Star reported.
The family said all COVID-19 restrictions would be met and masks would be needed. North Monroe Baptist will broadcast the service live from 2 pm on its social platforms.
Letlow is survived by his wife, Julia Letlow, and their children, Jeremiah, 3, and Jacqueline, 1.
Gov. John Bel Edwards said he would order half-staff to throw flags on Saturday.
Elected MP Luke Letlow, R-La., Died of coronavirus complications at the age of 41.
West Virginia Health officials mistakenly gave 42 people Regeneron IV COVID treatment instead of the vaccine
Dozens of people in West Virginia received the wrong treatment with Regeneron COVID-19 antibodies instead of the Moderna vaccine, the West Virginia National Guard announced on Thursday.
The state National Guard said that 42 people received the treatment, which is administered intravenously, at a vaccination clinic with the staff of the Boone County Health Department, CNBC reports. The National Guard said it found out about the error on Wednesday.
All those who received antibody treatment instead of the vaccine, which is given by a blow to the arm, were contacted, said Julie Miller, administrator of the Boone County Health Department, by e-mail. She added that “we do not believe that there is any risk of harm.”
Regeneron monoclonal antibody treatment, which should be given by IV drip, is seen as a promising treatment for COVID-19 – especially when given early in the course of infection. But the West Virginia mix is just one example of confusion in the rush to distribute the vaccine to tens of millions of people. The launch was slower than expected and marked by logistical challenges.
“It was established that this was an isolated incident,” Miller said. “All affected people will receive the COVID-19 vaccine today.”
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Several cases of the virus variant have been reported in Southern California
San Diego County has reported three more cases of new and more infectious coronavirus strain, the county said Thursday. The news comes a day after the county reported its first case, and the second in the US, of the variant, NBC San Diego reports.
New cases of the strain in the UK have been found in men, two at 40 and one at 50. Following the contacts shows that two men have not traveled outside the county, while the third case has not yet been fully interviewed. None of the men had a known interaction between them.
The four people who gave positive results for B.1.1.7. The strain lives in La Mesa, Mission Beach, Otay Mesa and the Carmel Mountain / Rancho Bernardo area, the county said.
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