Coronavirus updates: US reports nearly 300,000 new cases in all-time high
A staggering 299,087 new cases were confirmed over the past 24 hours.
A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 84.6 million people worldwide and killed over 1.8 million of them, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
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New variant ‘very likely exists in many states,’ Colorado governor says
After a Colorado man was determined Tuesday to have the COVID-19 variant detected in the United Kingdom, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said the new variant “very likely exists in many states.”
“We don’t yet have a good idea how prevalent it is” in Colorado or the U.S., Polis said at a news conference Wednesday.
The man, in his 20s, is believed to be the first known case of the variant in the U.S. He has mild symptoms and is recovering, Polis said. The man has had no travel history and is in isolation, officials said.
There is another possible case of the variant that has not been confirmed, State Epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy said Wednesday.
Both individuals are National Guard personnel who were sent to a nursing home where there was an outbreak, she said. National Guard personnel arrived at the facility on Dec. 23. There's no evidence that the variant is circulating in that facility but testing is ongoing, Herlihy said.
Randy Fitzgerald, regional vice president of the nursing home, Good Samaritan Society, said in a statement, "The Colorado Department of Health and Environment have been on-site to test employees and residents for the variant. We expect to have the results in the next few days. We will continue to work closely with the state while following the CDC’s infection control measures."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it expects "there will be additional cases that are likely to be detected in the coming days."
"Viruses constantly change through mutation, and new variants of a virus are expected to occur over time," the CDC said.
The CDC added that the U.K. variant doesn't appear to cause more severe disease or mortality, but warned it does appear to have a higher transmission rate.
“I’m proud that we detected it here in Colorado as quickly as we did,” Polis said.
Floridians wait in line overnight for vaccine
Some Floridians took chairs and blankets to wait in line in Fort Myers overnight for a chance to get the vaccine.
Vaccinations are being offered to high-risk front-line health care workers and people 65 and over, the Fort Myers News-Press reported.
Sunday predicted to be busiest travel day of pandemic
On Tuesday, 1,019,347 million people traveled through U.S. airports, according to the TSA.
Experts predict that this Sunday will be the busiest travel day of the pandemic.
ABC News’ Sam Sweeney contributed to this report.
Tuesday was deadliest day in US during pandemic
The United States reported 3,725 deaths on Tuesday, breaking the previous single-day total of 3,656 set on Dec. 16, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
The current numbers may not give the complete picture as the holidays have significantly impacted data, with many states having not reported numbers or have given incomplete updates.
December has already been determined to be the worst month on record for cases, hospitalizations and deaths, surpassing the high numbers seen in April.
-ABC News' Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.
California hospital explains how it will allocate medical resources in case of shortage
Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, California, released a patient information sheet documenting how they will use their medical resources should they see a shortage due to an overwhelming number of new patients following the holidays.
"We are not currently in this situation, but could be based on ongoing increase in hospitalized COVID-19 patients," they told ABC News, adding that on Sunday they had their highest number of patients (189) in a single day.
In the letter, the hospital explained that due to rising cases of COVID-19 in the community, they may experience limited resources. These include life support machines (like a ventilator or breathing machine), intensive care unit (ICU) beds and healthy medical staff to care for patients.
If there is a shortage of resources, a team of medical professionals will review the cases of all patients who are critically ill to determine how these resources should be shared throughout the hospital.
"If a patient becomes extremely sick and very unlikely to survive his/her illness (even with life-saving treatment) – limited medical resources may go to treat other patients who are more likely to survive," the letter reads.
"Our community is facing a public health emergency that has severely constricted the medical resources available to patients in the Los Angeles County and greater Southern California region. Hospitals such as ours are working hard to meet the dramatic rise in needed care during this COVID-19 surge. We expect to face additional challenges moving forward after the holiday season," the hospital said in a statement.
ABC News' Abigail Shalawylo contributed to this report.