NY health provider may have fraudulently obtained COVID-19 vaccine

The White House Coronavirus Task Force urged state leaders to step up their messaging when it comes to health warnings as the number of cases continues to rise across the country, according to a report for governors that was obtained by ABC News.

The rise in cases is now in states home to more than 80% of the American population, according to the report.

"Preventing a post-Christmas/Kwanzaa surge is critical through clear and continuous messaging: 'To preserve our hospital system for you, we need you to wear masks, physically distance, wash hands, and avoid crowds and social gatherings beyond your immediate family,'" the report said.

The task force reported that the current surge is currently plateauing at 10 times the daily cases of the spring surge and three and a half times the daily cases of the summer surge.

The number of COVID-19 inpatients is three times the number of spring inpatients and more than double the summer surge, according to the report. 

Weekly fatalities are greater than the spring surge and two and a half times greater than the summer surge, according to the task force.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.

Texas recorded 19,185 coronavirus cases Wednesday, a new record for the state, according to the Texas Health Department.

Its previous record was on Dec. 17, with nearly 17,000 new cases reported.

The state recorded 294 new deaths on Wednesday and there are 10,574 people hospitalized statewide, according to the Health Department.

Texas has recorded 1,451,256 cases so far, the Health Department said.

One day into the NBA's new season, the league announced that a game has been postponed due to COVID-19 related issues.

The game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets was put on hold after three Rockets players tested positive or inconclusive, according to the league. Four other players are quarantining following contact tracing procedures, the NBA said.

"Additionally, James Harden is unavailable due to a violation of the Health and Safety Protocols. All other Rockets players were tested again today, and all returned negative results," the league said in a statement.

One other player was unavailable due to an injury and the Rockets did not have the mandatory eight-player roster to play the game, according to the NBA.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom urged residents to heed health warnings during the holiday season as the state's hospital system is pushed to the limit with COVID-19 patients.

He warned there could be multiple surges in cases "unless we are cautious and mindful about our travel plans this holiday season and about our proximity to people outside our households."

The number of the Intensive Care Unit patients is now 3,827, which was nearly double the 2,006 patients on Dec. 1, according to Newsom.

"On Monday, we were at 2.5% ICU availability and now as a state today, we are down to 1.1% ICU bed availability," he said.

"We had 8,517 people that were in our hospitals that tested positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 1st. Now 18,828 people are testing positive in just a three-week period," Newsom added.

-ABC News' Cammeron Parish contributed to this report