
California has become the first US state to surpass 2 million confirmed cases of Covid-19, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, as infections continue to rise rapidly and ICUs remain near or at full capacity.
As of 10 p.m. PT Thursday, California had reported 2,002,494 Covid-19 cases, JHU data showed. A total of 23,558 Californians have died of complications from the disease since the start of the pandemic.
California hit 1 million cases on November 12, approximately nine months after reporting its first infection. It has taken less than six weeks for the state to add another million cases.
The state's seven-day positivity rate now stands at 12.6%, a slight decrease from previous weeks. However, 55 of California's 58 counties remain in the most restrictive purple tier of the state's Covid-19 reopening system, which have resulted in the closure of many non-essential indoor business operations.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has attributed the recent surge in cases to people relaxing their physical distancing efforts and gathering with people outside of their households, especially during the holidays.
According to JHU data, Texas currently has the second highest number of Covid-19 cases nationwide with 1,648,569 confirmed infections.
CNN has reached out to Gov. Newsom's office and the California Department of Public Health for comment.