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U.S. Reports Record Deaths and Hospitalizations as New COVID Variant Identified in Colorado

HeadlineDec 30, 2020

The U.S. reported 3,725 coronavirus deaths Tuesday — the highest daily death toll yet — and 124,000 hospitalizations, also a world record. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now predicting the U.S. will hit 400,000 COVID-19 deaths by January 20, the day Trump leaves office.

The first U.S. case of the coronavirus variant first detected in Britain has been reported in Colorado. The patient is in his twenties and has not traveled recently. Health officials say they expect to see more cases of the variant soon. British officials believe the variant is up to 70% more infectious, though this has not been experimentally verified.

In Los Angeles, at least five hospitals had to declare an “internal disaster” due to oxygen supply issues.

In Louisiana, Republican Congressmember-elect Luke Letlow has died of COVID-19 at the age of 41. He was due to be sworn in on Sunday.

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