THE US exceeded 4,000 daily coronavirus deaths for the first time on Thursday, as the number of states infected with the highly contagious UK strain grew to eight.
More than 4,000 people died of Covid-19, surpassing Wednesday’s record of 3,915 deaths, according to the Washington Post.
As of Thursday, eight states have reported cases of the “super covid” B117 variant from the UK: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas.
Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Texas reported the UK variant infections for the first time on Thursday.
Pennsylvania reported one patient with “super-covid” who had known international exposure.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont said two people infected with the variant, ages 15 and 25, had traveled separately.
Texas health commissioner John Hellerstedt said the patient in his state had no travel history.
At least 64 Americans across those states have been infected with the UK strain, the Daily Mail reported.
On Sunday, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr Scott Gottlieb said that B117 could make up most of the US’s coronavirus cases in a matter of a couple of months.
“Right now, there’s some estimates that the new variant probably represents about one percent of all infections in the country,” Gottlieb said on CBS’ Face the Nation.
“By March, it’s going to be the majority of new infections. It’s going to grow quickly.”
On Thursday, the US also saw its second-highest tally of new Covid-19 cases reported, at more than 265,000, according to a Post analysis.
In addition, more than 132,000 are hospitalized with the virus, the most recorded yet.
The US has experienced more than 21,574,000 Covid-19 cases as of early Friday, according data from Johns Hopkins University.
The country’s dismal, record-setting day came after thousands of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol building to stop Congress from certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
