U.S. COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to rise due to holiday gatherings
Health experts are uncertain and still studying if the new B.1.1.7 variant causes more severe symptoms or if it more deadly.
Right now, the United States and some other countries are seeing a rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations due to the cold weather.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) repeatedly stated during media interviews that he expects a “surge upon a surge” of COVID-19 cases, largely due to gatherings during the holiday season. In addition to the surging number of infections, the United States is experiencing a devastating wave of hospitalizations. Its death rate also continues to go up.
Meanwhile the CDC said South Africa confirmed a strain similar to B.1.1.7, which was detected in the country in October. The new coronavirus variant in the country is not related to the B.1.1.7 discovered in the UK.
On December 24, John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, announced the discovery of yet another coronavirus variant, this time in Nigeria. Experts identified it as the B.1.207 variant of the COVID-19. There is no evidence that the newly-found strain in Nigeria is more severe or more transmissible.
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