Coronavirus updates: Trump says 'not much' he'd change about COVID response

New coronavirus cases in the U.S. saw a major increase over the last week, according to an internal memo by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services obtained by ABC News.

The memo said 387,590 new cases were confirmed during the period of Oct. 12 and Oct. 18, which represented a 12.6% increase from the previous seven-day period.

There were 4,878 deaths recorded during that seven-day period, which was a 0.6% decrease compared with the previous week, according to the memo.
 

The national test-positivity rate decreased to 5.7% from 5.9% in week-to-week comparisons. Roughly 21% of hospitals across the country have more than 80% of their intensive care unit beds filled, according to HHS.

The agency said 44 states and territories are in an upward trajectory of new cases, four jurisdictions are at plateau and eight are going down.

In the District of Columbia, the COVID caseload hit a two-month high on Oct. 14, with a seven-day rolling average of 1,801 new cases.

In New York, which was the epicenter of the pandemic in the spring, there were 938 reported hospitalizations on Oct. 13, which was highest the state had recorded since June 25.

ABC News' Josh Margolin contributed to this report.

Harvard Law School alerted its students Tuesday that classes will remain online-only for the spring 2021 semester.

Dean John Manning cited rising COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and around the world as one of the reasons it won't be bringing its students back to campus.

"Cases have recently been on the rise in Massachusetts, as more communities in and around Boston and the eastern half of the Commonwealth have been deemed high risk," Manning said in the letter.

The dean said the school is working on accommodations for students, including "new courses in time-zone friendly teaching blocks" and "new on-campus housing options" for certain students.

"While we recognize that the public health situation may change between now and the new year, and we of course very much hope that scientific developments will allow greater in-person activity very soon, we also recognize that students, staff, and faculty must have sufficient time to make appropriate plans for the remainder of the school year," he wrote.

ABC News' Lauren Lantry contributed to this report.

The New Orleans Saints and Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced Tuesday a phased plan to bring fans back to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, which has a maximum capacity of 74,295 seats.

Season ticket holders will have access to 3,000 seats for this weekend's game against the Carolina Panthers.

If health data in the city shows no major increases in cases, the team will allow 6,000 fans for the Nov. 15 game against the San Francisco 49ers and the Nov. 22 game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Seating capacity would then increase to 15,000 for the Dec. 20 game against the Kansas City Chiefs and the Christmas Day game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Fans are "encouraged" to wear face masks, according to a statement from the team.

New Orleans has had 13,271 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 589 related deaths, according to the city's health department.

The city's seven-day average for new cases has remained relatively steady in October at around 36, according to the Health Department. About 64.5% of the city's hospitals are in use, the health department said.

Belgium has seen a 69% increase in COVID-19 cases and an 88% jump in fatalities in the last week, according to the Health Ministry.

The nation has reported a total of 10,443 fatalities, including 221 deaths in the last week. With a population of around 11 million, Belgium has one of the highest per capita fatality rates in the world.

Belgium's test-positivity rate stands at 15%.

ABC News' Aicha El Hammar and Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.