Coronavirus updates: State reports over 49,000 new cases, 468 new deaths

Daily cases may double in most New York City boroughs within the next four weeks, while in the Washington, D.C. area, case numbers are expected to grow well into January, models from PolicyLab at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia predict.

PolicyLab’s latest forecast shows cases doubling in the Atlanta area in January. Across Georgia, ventilator use has been up 60% since Christmas, PolicyLab said.

In Texas, “projections for Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin show no signs of slowing in the coming weeks,” PolicyLab said. “These forecasts come as Texas climbs to 45% COVID ICU occupancy and 200 deaths a day.”

In the Pacific Northwest, “concerns are growing,” PolicyLab said, “as some of the highest transmission rates in the country were observed in the state of Washington this past week.”

The Seattle area could see cases double over the next few weeks, PolicyLab said.

Hard-hit Los Angeles is “near its peak,” according to PolicyLab’s model. 

ABC News' Brian Hartman contributed to this report.

The COVID-19 variant first found in the United Kingdom has now been detected in eight states, with officials announcing cases Thursday in Pennsylvania, Texas and Connecticut.

In Pennsylvania, the case was confirmed in Dauphin County, which encompasses Harrisburg.

“This individual tested positive after known international exposure. A case investigation and contact tracing were performed to identify, inform and monitor anyone who was in close contact with this individual,” state officials said. “The individual had mild symptoms, which have since been resolved while they completed their isolation at home.”

“Pennsylvania has been preparing for this variant by working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and has been sending 10-35 random samples biweekly to the CDC since November to study sequencing and detect any potential cases for this new COVID-19 variant,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said in a statement. “Public health experts are in the early stages of working to better understand this new variant, how it spreads and how it affects people who are infected with it.”

The variant was also confirmed for the first time in Texas on Thursday, officials said. The case was in Harris County, which encompasses Houston.

The man has had no history of travel and is stable in isolation, Harris County officials said.

Epidemiologists are working to identify and quarantine his close contacts.

In Connecticut, two unrelated cases were confirmed in New Haven County, Gov. Ned Lamont said Thursday.

The two people are between the ages of 15 and 25 and both "recently traveled outside Connecticut -- one to Ireland and the other to New York State -- and both developed symptoms within 3 to 4 days of their return," Lamont's office said.

"They are in the process of being re-interviewed by public health officials in light of the identification of the UK variant as the cause of their illnesses," his office said. "One individual has completed their self-isolation period, and the other is self-isolating at their home and will remain there until they are 10 days past the onset of symptoms and they are symptom free."

COVID-19 mutates regularly and the variant first detected in the U.K. has now been confirmed in at least eight states: Georgia, New York, Colorado, California, Florida and now Pennsylvania and Texas. While it appears to spread more easily, there's no evidence that it's more deadly.

California reported another 36,385 cases and 583 more deaths on Wednesday.

Hospitalizations are continuing to rise in the hard-hit state.

ABC News' Matt Fuhrman contributed to this report.

The number of patients currently hospitalized nationwide is at a record high, according to ABC News’ analysis of COVID Tracking Project data.

In the last three months, the national number of patients currently hospitalized has quadrupled, surging by 322% since early October.

On Wednesday, 12 states hit a record number of current hospitalizations: Arizona, California, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.

Wednesday marked the deadliest day on record for the U.S., with 3,865 COVID-19 deaths reported -- a record death toll for the second consecutive day, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.

The U.S. has now surpassed 361,000 confirmed COVID-19 related deaths, which signifies that at least 1 in every 915 Americans has now died from COVID-19.

The average number of daily cases in the U.S. is now the highest it has been since the beginning of the pandemic, up by 21% in the last week, after it surpassed 216,000 for the first time on Wednesday.

ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos contributed to this report.