Prognosis
Mutant Strain Spreads; N.J. Records Worst Month: Virus Update
A medical staff member stands by a Covid-19 patient on Christmas Eve at a hospital in Houston, Texas.
Photographer: Go Nakamura/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
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U.S. cases rose on Christmas Day at the slowest rate in almost two months, though the numbers were likely skewed by the holiday. Hospitalizations in New York City continued to climb, while statewide the total fell slightly, as did new infections. New Jersey has had about as many cases in December as it did from May through October. North Carolina surpassed 500,000 infections over the holiday.