California state officials expressed deep concern about a new, more infectious strain of the coronavirus detected in Europe and South Africa, which led government officials to renew lockdown measures across much of England. If the more infectious strain of the virus does get a foothold in California, it’s unclear how it might affect the state’s efforts to contain the existing version of the virus. AdvertisementDeaths in L.A. County could top 100 a day by early JanuaryThe concern over the new virus strain comes as California approaches 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 23,000 deaths. As of Monday night, an independent county-by-county survey conducted by The Times found 1.93 million coronavirus cases and 22,928 COVID-19 deaths in California. As of Sunday, there were 5,866 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in L.A. County — three times the total on Thanksgiving.

Source: Los Angeles Times December 22, 2020 15:33 UTC