Coronavirus updates: Los Angeles to prohibit gatherings, close playgrounds

Cases are on the rise in Southern California.

Last Updated: November 25, 2020, 1:11 PM EST

A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 61 million people and killed over 1.4 million worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news developed this week. All times Eastern.
Nov 25, 2020, 1:11 PM EST

Ravens-Steelers game on Thanksgiving moved to Sunday

The NFL has postponed the game between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers, which was scheduled to be played on Thursday night.

The game has been rescheduled to Sunday afternoon.

Multiple players on the Ravens were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday following positive tests, the team announced at the time.

Nov 25, 2020, 11:52 AM EST

US virus death toll tops 260,000

More than 260,000 people in the United States have now died from COVID-19, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

The country hit the grim milestone on Wednesday.

The nationwide, cumulative total currently stands at 12,613,248 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and at least 260,190 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins data. The cases include people from all 50 U.S. states, Washington D.C. and other U.S. territories as well as repatriated citizens.

Nov 25, 2020, 11:34 AM EST

UPS making dry ice, supplying portable freezers for vaccines

The United Parcel Service (UPS) said it will start making dry ice in its U.S. facilities and will provide portable freezers to aid in the massive distribution efforts for COVID-19 vaccines in the coming months.

The Atlanta-based global shipping and logistics company said it can now produce up to 1,200 lbs of dry ice per hour in its U.S. facilities to support the storage and transportation of cold chain products, such as frozen vaccines, in accordance with manufacturer storage requirements. The increased production also allows UPS to make dry ice available for American and Canadian hospitals, clinics and other points of care requiring dry ice to store vaccines locally.

"Enhancing our dry ice production capabilities increases our supply chain agility and reliability immensely when it comes to handling complex vaccines for our customers," Wes Wheeler, president of UPS's new healthcare logistics unit, said in a statement Tuesday. "Healthcare facilities in Louisville, Dallas and Ontario will ensure we have the capability to produce dry ice to sufficiently pack and replenish shipments as needed to keep products viable and effective."

Coarse dry ice pellets are held at the Dry Ice Nationwide manufacturing facility on Nov. 11, 2020 in Reading, England.
Leon Neal/Getty Images

In addition to dry ice production, UPS is teaming up with Stirling Ultracold, a division of Global Cooling, Inc., to supply portable ultra-low temperature freezers to thermally protect critical vaccines requiring temperatures ranging from -20 to -80 degrees Celsius. The portable freezers will be distributed and used in smaller facilities that need a more permanent solution for longer-term freezer storage.

"This program will help ensure vaccines remain effective next year, and for years to come, as future vaccines and biologics are developed to keep the world healthy and safe," Stirling Ultracold CEO Dusty Tenney said in a statement Tuesday.

Nov 25, 2020, 9:22 AM EST

Weekly unemployment filings surge to 778,000 last week as virus cases rise 

Some 778,000 workers lost their jobs and filed for unemployment insurance last week, the Department of Labor said Wednesday. 

This is an uptick of 30,000 compared to the previous week, and the second consecutive week that the weekly tally has risen after it was on the decline for months. 

The DOL also said Wednesday that more than 20 million people were still receiving some form of unemployment benefits through all programs as of the week ending Nov. 7. For the comparable week in 2019, that figure was 1.5 million. 

The latest economic data from the DOL comes as new virus cases surge across the country, and highlight a slow economic recovery. It also comes, however, as Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a new milestone of trading above 30,000 on Tuesday -- a further indication that the stock market remains divorced from the economic pain millions of Americans still face as the coronavirus crisis rages on. 

ABC News’ Catherine Thorbecke contributed to this report.

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