U.S. tops 4,000 daily deaths from coronavirus for 1st time
Registered nurse Merri Lynn Anderson talks to her patient with a curtain drawn between them to give the patient privacy in a COVID-19 unit at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. California health authorities reported Thursday a record two-day total of 1,042 coronavirus deaths as many hospitals strain under unprecedented caseloads. The state's hospitals are trying to prepare for the possibility that they may have to ration care for lack of staff and beds — and hoping they don't have to make that choice. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Registered nurse Merri Lynn Anderson talks to her patient with a curtain drawn between them to give the patient privacy in a COVID-19 unit at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. California health authorities reported Thursday a record two-day total of 1,042 coronavirus deaths as many hospitals strain under unprecedented caseloads. The state's hospitals are trying to prepare for the possibility that they may have to ration care for lack of staff and beds — and hoping they don't have to make that choice. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Jan. 07, 2021 06:06 PM EST
A COVID-19 patient, placed on a ventilator, rests at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, Calif. Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. California health authorities reported Thursday a record two-day total of 1,042 coronavirus deaths as many hospitals strain under unprecedented caseloads. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A COVID-19 patient, placed on a ventilator, rests at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, Calif. Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. California health authorities reported Thursday a record two-day total of 1,042 coronavirus deaths as many hospitals strain under unprecedented caseloads. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Jan. 07, 2021 05:57 PM EST
Nurse Nerissa Black takes a selfie wearing protective gear at work on Dec. 13, 2020 at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Valencia, Calif. Black was already having a hard time tending to four COVID-19 patients who need constant heart monitoring. But because of staffing shortages affecting hospitals throughout California, her workload recently increased to six people infected with the coronavirus. Overwhelmed California nurses are now caring for more COVID-19 patients after the state began issuing waivers that allow hospitals to temporarily bypass strict nurse-to-patient ratios. Nurses say the new workload is pushing them to the brink of burnout and affecting patient care. (Nerissa Black via AP)

Nurse Nerissa Black takes a selfie wearing protective gear at work on Dec. 13, 2020 at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Valencia, Calif. Black was already having a hard time tending to four COVID-19 patients who need constant heart monitoring. But because of staffing shortages affecting hospitals throughout California, her workload recently increased to six people infected with the coronavirus. Overwhelmed California nurses are now caring for more COVID-19 patients after the state began issuing waivers that allow hospitals to temporarily bypass strict nurse-to-patient ratios. Nurses say the new workload is pushing them to the brink of burnout and affecting patient care. (Nerissa Black via AP)

Jan. 08, 2021 12:41 AM EST
Registered nurse Kyanna Barboza adjusts the ventilator on her COVID-19 patient at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. California health authorities reported Thursday a record two-day total of 1,042 coronavirus deaths as many hospitals strain under unprecedented caseloads. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Registered nurse Kyanna Barboza adjusts the ventilator on her COVID-19 patient at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. California health authorities reported Thursday a record two-day total of 1,042 coronavirus deaths as many hospitals strain under unprecedented caseloads. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Jan. 07, 2021 06:16 PM EST
A COVID-19 patient lies in his bed as registered nurse Keran Li, foreground, works on her computer at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, Calif. Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. The state's hospitals are trying to prepare for the possibility that they may have to ration care for lack of staff and beds — and hoping they don't have to make that choice as many hospitals strain under unprecedented caseloads. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A COVID-19 patient lies in his bed as registered nurse Keran Li, foreground, works on her computer at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, Calif. Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. The state's hospitals are trying to prepare for the possibility that they may have to ration care for lack of staff and beds — and hoping they don't have to make that choice as many hospitals strain under unprecedented caseloads. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Jan. 07, 2021 05:52 PM EST
A technician distributes a test kit at a COVID-19 walk-up testing site on the Martin Luther King Jr. Medical Campus Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

A technician distributes a test kit at a COVID-19 walk-up testing site on the Martin Luther King Jr. Medical Campus Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Jan. 07, 2021 05:26 PM EST
Registered nurse Anita Grohmann carries a balloon delivered to a patient in a COVID-19 unit at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, Calif. Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. The state's hospitals are trying to prepare for the possibility that they may have to ration care for lack of staff and beds — and hoping they don't have to make that choice as many hospitals strain under unprecedented caseloads. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Registered nurse Anita Grohmann carries a balloon delivered to a patient in a COVID-19 unit at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, Calif. Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. The state's hospitals are trying to prepare for the possibility that they may have to ration care for lack of staff and beds — and hoping they don't have to make that choice as many hospitals strain under unprecedented caseloads. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Jan. 07, 2021 05:50 PM EST
Healthcare workers prepare to inoculate residents and staff with the COVID-19 vaccine, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at John Knox Village in Pompano Beach, Fla. Ninety residents and 80 staff members received their second shot of the vaccine Wednesday and 50 new staff members received their first round of the vaccine. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Healthcare workers prepare to inoculate residents and staff with the COVID-19 vaccine, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at John Knox Village in Pompano Beach, Fla. Ninety residents and 80 staff members received their second shot of the vaccine Wednesday and 50 new staff members received their first round of the vaccine. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Jan. 06, 2021 03:59 PM EST
A boy is aided in taking a COVID-19 test on the Martin Luther King Jr. Medical Campus, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

A boy is aided in taking a COVID-19 test on the Martin Luther King Jr. Medical Campus, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Jan. 07, 2021 05:19 PM EST
Physical therapist Daniel Lumbera helps a COVID-19 patient sit up on his bed at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, Calif. Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. The state's hospitals are trying to prepare for the possibility that they may have to ration care for lack of staff and beds — and hoping they don't have to make that choice, as many hospitals strain under unprecedented caseloads. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Physical therapist Daniel Lumbera helps a COVID-19 patient sit up on his bed at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, Calif. Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. The state's hospitals are trying to prepare for the possibility that they may have to ration care for lack of staff and beds — and hoping they don't have to make that choice, as many hospitals strain under unprecedented caseloads. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Jan. 07, 2021 05:49 PM EST
People line up at a COVID-19 walk-up testing site on the Martin Luther King Jr. Medical Campus Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

People line up at a COVID-19 walk-up testing site on the Martin Luther King Jr. Medical Campus Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Jan. 07, 2021 05:23 PM EST
People walk to a tent at a COVID-19 walk-up testing site on the Martin Luther King Jr. Medical Campus Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

People walk to a tent at a COVID-19 walk-up testing site on the Martin Luther King Jr. Medical Campus Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Jan. 07, 2021 05:18 PM EST