Coronavirus updates: 84% of California population to go on lockdown Sunday night

Rhode Island is set to open two field hospitals for non-critically ill COVID-19 patients, to lessen strain on existing hospitals.

Meanwhile, the state kicked off its two-week pause program Monday, including sending public safety alerts to residents' phones, warning that hospitals are at capacity and advising the public to stay home as much as possible over the next two weeks.

ABC News' Joshua Hoyos contributed to this report.

Schools in Florida will remain open for in-person learning next spring, Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a Monday press conference in which he referred to school closings as the largest public health blunder in American history.

COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths are rising in Florida, according to an ABC News analysis of data from The COVID Tracking Project. Despite the worsening statistics, DeSantis said he will not close businesses or issue a statewide mask mandate, nor will he permit local governments to fine residents for failing to wear masks in public.

ABC News' Scott Withers contributed to this report.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Monday that if safety and efficacy bear out, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could approve Pfizer's vaccine within days of an independent FDA advisory committee meeting on Dec. 10.

"We could be seeing both of these vaccines out and getting into people's arms before Christmas," Azar told CBS. In comparison, Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, has said the decision could take a few days or as long as a few weeks.

Moderna announced Monday that it would seek emergency FDA authorization for its vaccine, making it the second U.S. company to do so. Moderna's FDA hearing will be held Dec. 17.

ABC News' Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.

Rhode Island entered a two-week pause Monday, shuttering bars, gyms, movie theaters, bowling allies and indoor sporting facilities. But unlike in many other states, schools will remain open.

"We've really got to shut it down for those two weeks," Gov. Gina Raimondo said at a Nov. 19 press conference. "Because if we do, we can slowly crank up after those two weeks and make it through the end of the year."

The tightened restrictions are in response to rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the state, which has reported 53,954 infections and 1,346 deaths to date.

Rhode Island's pause will remain in effect until Dec. 13.