The Latest on COVID-19

• Over 500,000 deaths from COVID-19 have now been recorded in the U.S. The illness is now the third leading cause of death in the U.S. behind heart disease and cancer. The U.S. has the highest number of recorded COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world.
• For the first time, physicians have documented a case of SARS-CoV-2 transmission due to an organ transplant. A woman became ill with COVID-19 after undergoing a double lung transplant. The organ donor had contracted the novel coronavirus. Experts say this kind of transmission is still very rare.
• A novel coronavirus variant first found in California may be more infectious, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. While the variant was rarely found last September, by January it made up half of positive COVID-19 tests in most California counties.