The new variant of coronavirus has been detected for the first time in the United States and Latin America as President-elect Joe Biden vowed to significantly ramp up the vaccination drive.
The new strain, which first emerged in the UK, pushed Britain to a new daily record of infections and led South Africa to impose a raft of new measures, amid fears around the world that holiday revelers are aggravating the spike in infections.
The EU health agency warned the strain carried a high risk for more hospitalisations and deaths - not because the infections are more severe but because it spreads more easily.
The state of Colorado recorded what is believed to be the first case in the US - which has suffered the highest death toll of the year-old