A huge number of Americans in the region of 125,544 are reportedly hospitalized with COVID-19, with six states Alabama, California, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas reporting record hospitalizations on Jan. 3.

While daily COVID-19 figures remain skewed because of a holiday-related backlog, data from December shows a grim trend, according to an ABC News analysis of data from The COVID Tracking Project. 

December was the worst month so far for infections, hospitalizations and deaths. In less than eight weeks, the U.S. jumped from 10 million cases to 20 million cases on Jan. 1.

Over the course of December, the U.S. reported 77,082 deaths from the virus, bringing the national death toll to 351,590, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The U.S., which leads the world in COVID-19 fatalities, accounts for nearly 20 percent of the world's total death toll. In different terms, 1 in every 940 Americans has died of COVID-19.

(With input from agencies)