Coronavirus updates: Los Angeles to prohibit gatherings, close playgrounds

There were 169,190 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in the United States on Monday, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

It's the 21st straight day that the country has reported over 100,000 newly diagnosed infections. Monday's count falls under the all-time high of 196,004 new cases on Nov. 20.

An additional 889 fatalities from COVID-19 were also registered nationwide on Monday, down from a peak of 2,609 new deaths on April 15.

A total of 12,420,872 people in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and at least 257,701 of them have died, according to Johns Hopkins. The cases include people from all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C. and other U.S. territories as well as repatriated citizens.

Much of the country was under lockdown by the end of March as the first wave of pandemic hit. By May 20, all U.S. states had begun lifting stay-at-home orders and other restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The day-to-day increase in the country's cases then hovered around 20,000 for a couple of weeks before shooting back up and crossing 100,000 for the first time on Nov. 4.

The COVID Tracking Project announced that 85,836 people are currently hospitalized in the United States with COVID-19.

This marks the 14th consecutive day of record-setting hospitalization numbers in the country, according to the health data.

"Only 4 states—Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont—have fewer than 100 people per million hospitalized with COVID-19," the COVID Tracking Project tweeted.

The U.S. recorded 105,975 new coronavirus cases and 956 new deaths Monday. The seven-day average of deaths is now over 1,500, an 87% increase since Nov. 1, according to the health data.

Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Monday that the United States could run out of beds and nurses as COVID-19 cases go up.

"It is really conceivable that if we don’t turn around the trajectory that that will happen," Fauci said during an interview on the PBS NewsHour.

Fauci, the nation's top expert on infectious diseases and a leading member of the current White House coronavirus task force, also said that families that are gathering for Thanksgiving with those outside their household are putting themselves at risk.

"We really can do something about it if we adhere to the public health measures," he said. "It’s within our power to do something about it."

Los Angeles County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer announced the county will shut down in-person restaurant dining starting Wednesday as cases continue to rise.

The county recorded 6,124 new cases and eight new deaths Monday, according to the local Health Department. There are 1,473 patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in L.A. County, the Health Department said.

Eateries and bars will be able to offer take-out options, according to Ferrer. The order will be in effect for at least three weeks, she said.

The Los Angeles County Board will meet Tuesday to discuss further shutdown measures. If the five-day case average is 4,500 or higher, a more restrictive stay-at-home order will be issued for three weeks.

"The problem is, we have such a high rate of transmission and so many people are infected that it will take a lot to get us back down," Ferrer said.