U.S. recorded highest daily coronavirus death toll on January 7

The U.S. on Thursday recorded its highest single-day coronavirus deaths toll. The Johns Hopkins University tracker recorded over 4,000 deaths in the country, as case rates continue to surge in most  every state.

Case rates are particularly high in California, which on Thursday reported a record two-day total of more than 1,000 deaths.

There have been numerous reports that ICUs in the state are dangerously close to running out of space. More than 28,000 Californians have died during the pandemic

Even with the vaccine distribution effort underway, medical experts are concerned that January could potentially be the worst month of the pandemic – especially as a new, more contagious variant of the virus has now been found in eight U.S. states.