US tops 4,000 daily deaths from coronavirus, other developments

NEW YORK — The U.S. has topped 4,000 daily deaths from the coronavirus for the first time, breaking a record set just one day earlier.

The tally from Johns Hopkins University shows the U.S. had 4,085 deaths Thursday. The U.S. had nearly 275,000 new coronavirus cases as well.

The numbers are another reminder of the worsening situation following travel for holidays and family gatherings, along with more time indoors during the winter months. There’s been a surge in cases and deaths in California, Arizona, Texas and Florida.

More than 365,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus.

Other developments:

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — New data from the CDC shows Florida has nearly half the known cases in the U.S. of a mutated and likely more contagious strain of the coronavirus.

The news comes as Florida broke its single-day record of new cases again, reporting nearly 20,000 in a single day.

A CDC map shows that Florida had 22 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant that emerged in Britain. California has reported 26 cases, Colorado has two, and New York and Georgia have each reported one case.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Facing a massive surge in coronavirus cases, California has been issuing waivers allowing hospitals to temporarily bypass the nation’s only strict nurse-to-patient ratios.

Nurses say that being forced to take on more patients is pushing them to the brink of burnout and affecting patient care.

LONDON — Britain has authorized a coronavirus vaccine developed by Moderna, the third to be licensed for use in the country.

The Department of Health says the vaccine meets the regulator’s “strict standards of safety, efficacy and quality.” Britain has ordered 10 million doses of the vaccine, although they are not expected to be delivered to the U.K. until spring.

Meanwhile, Brazil’s pandemic deaths reach 200,000 since the start of the pandemic. Britain’s National Health Service will next week use a little-used field hospital built at an exhibition center in east London last spring....

GENEVA — World Health Organization experts have issued recommendations saying the interval between administration of two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine can be extended to up to six weeks.

WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on immunization, known as SAGE, formally published guidance Friday. It says an interval of 21 to 28 days between the first and second doses is recommended.

But the U.N. health agency also noted “a number of countries face exceptional circumstances of vaccine supply constraints combined with a high disease burden,” and some have considered postponing the administration of second doses as a way to expand the number of people initially immunized. ...

 ALSO SEE: Washington Post overview.