On the first day of 2021, the United States rang in a grim milestone, surpassing 20 million COVID-19 cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University as the pandemic continues to ravage the country.

What You Need To Know

  • The U.S. surpassed 20 million COVID-19 cases on Friday, Jan. 1

  • The U.S. leads the world in cases by far, with nearly twice as many cases as the No. 2 country, and about a quarter of the world’s 84 million cases

  • According to the CDC, nearly 2.8 million people have been vaccinated, with 12.4 million doses distributed

  • Over 350,000 Americans have died of COVID-19, according to data from Johns Hopkins University

It took less than a week for the U.S. to go from 19 million cases to 20, as officials look to ramp up vaccinations against the deadly pandemic, and a new variant of the coronavirus has been discovered in states around the country.

The variant, which was first discovered in the United Kingdom, was first reported in Colorado in a member of the Colorado National Guard, a man in his 20s with no travel history. It was later discovered in California and Florida. 

The U.S., which has seen a spike in cases since the Thanksgiving holiday, leads the world in cases by far, with nearly twice as many cases as the No. 2 country, India, which has 10.3 million, and about a quarter of the world’s 84 million cases.

On Sunday, the U.S. hit another grim milestone: The COVID-19 death toll in the United States surpassed 350,000.

Experts anticipate another surge in coronavirus cases and deaths stemming from holiday gatherings over Christmas and New Year’s.

Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University shows the U.S. passed the threshold early Sunday morning. Multiple states have reported a record number of cases over the past few days, including North Carolina and Arizona. Mortuary owners in hard-hit Southern California say they’re being inundated with bodies.

The U.S. by far has reported the most deaths from COVID-19 in the world, followed by Brazil, which has reported more than 195,000 deaths.

California started the new year by reporting a record 585 coronavirus deaths in a single day. 

The state Department of Public Health said Friday there were more than than 47,000 new confirmed cases reported, bringing the total to more than 2.29 million. 

Hospitals in the state ended the year on “the brink of catastrophe,” a health official said as the pandemic pushed deaths and sickness to staggering levels and some medical centers scrambled to provide oxygen for the critically ill. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced Friday that California would begin collaborating with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate and upgrade outdated oxygen delivery systems at six Los Angeles area hospitals. 

The collaboration comes as older hospitals are having difficulty maintaining oxygen pressure in aging infrastructure and some were scrambling to locate additional oxygen tanks for discharged patients to take home. 

California this week became the third state to exceed 25,000 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

"We are still going to have our toughest and darkest days," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti told CNN on Thursday.

Texas hit a new record high for patients hospitalized with COVID-19 for the fifth consecutive day Friday, in a continued surge of the disease caused by the coronavirus following holiday gatherings and travel. 

Texas reported 12,481 COVID-19 patients in state hospitals on New Year’s Day, an increase of more than 1,750 from a week ago. 

State health officials on Friday reported 12,369 new, confirmed cases of the virus and another 3,658 probable cases. 

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, intensive care units in several parts of Texas were full or nearly full. 

The grim count has continued to climb as some Texans gathered to celebrate the new year, despite warnings from health officials that congregation is likely to further spread the virus.

The rise in cases comes as one prominent lawmaker is calling for “urgent action” on vaccinations. 

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) slammed the U.S. distribution plan so far: “That comprehensive vaccination plans have not been developed at the federal level and sent to the states as models is as incomprehensible as it is inexcusable,” he said in a statement Friday.

According to the CDC, nearly 2.8 million people have been vaccinated, with 12.4 million doses distributed.

Romney called it “unrealistic” to assume that health systems overburdened with COVID-19 cases could handle vaccination programs, as well as pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens or doctors offices.

"When something isn't working, you need to acknowledge reality and develop a plan—particularly when hundreds of thousands of lives are at stake,” he added, calling for a sweeping, widespread plan that includes enlisting “every medical professional, retired or active” to vaccinate people, including “veterinarians, combat medics and corpsmen, medical students, EMS professionals, first responders” and others.

"Urgent action now can help us catch up," Romney concluded.