Gov. Newsom asked us to imagine a worst-case COVID-19 scenario 1 month ago -- now, we're living it

Remember what things were like a month ago? (We don't blame you if the answer is no -- two weeks in, 2021 already feels like a long year.)

On Dec. 15, California was at an inflection point in the winter COVID-19 surge. We were already feeling the effects of a post-Thanksgiving spike in cases, and fearing what would come after Christmas. The state was averaging 163 coronavirus-related deaths a day.

"Think about if we continue down the path we're on, what that Jan. 14 number may look like," Newsom said.

VACCINE TRACKER: How California is doing, when you can get a coronavirus vaccine

Since then, things have gotten worse -- much, much worse.

As of Jan. 14, California is seeing 506 lives lost to COVID-19 every day. That's when we look at the seven-day average -- the same metric Newsom was referring to one month ago.

Even more stark is when we look back on Nov. 14, two months ago. The average daily death toll was at 41 before the winter holidays.

Public health leaders have referred to the COVID-19 vaccine as "a light at the end of the tunnel." This one-month comparison makes it more clear than ever that it's still a very dark tunnel.

ABC7 News' Kate Eby contributed to this report.

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