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

An exploding number of cases in Southern California had Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti pleading with residents Friday to take the pandemic seriously.

"If things don't change by year's end, the lives lost will surpass 11,000 deaths," Garcetti said. "That means 3,000 additional deaths in a single month. To put things in perspective, it's a decade of homicides."

"This is the greatest threat to life in Los Angeles," he added.

The county reported 8,860 cases on Friday, a number Garcetti said he "can hardly believe." The county recorded more cases in the past week than it did in all of October, according to the mayor. It also recorded 60 new deaths on Friday.

Right now, more than 15% of intensive care unit beds remain available, a number that would trigger new closures if crossed. However, the number of beds are quickly filling up. The mayor said the county could cross 85% of ICU beds filled this weekend. A regional stay-at-home order, as has been implemented in the San Francisco Bay area, would be triggered and stay in place for at least three weeks.

Garcetti showed little doubt the percentage would be crossed -- and continue to grow.

"At this rate we will be out of beds in two to four weeks," Garcetti said.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is advising children playing sports to mask up while doing so as part of new COVID-19 recommendations.

"Proper and consistent use of a cloth face mask is especially important right now as so many athletes move indoors for sports during the colder months," Dr. Susannah Briskin, author of the guidance and a pediatric sports medicine specialist, said in a statement. "While regular exercise is important for our kids' mental and physical well-being, we must do everything we can to minimize the risk of COVID-19 spread."

Many schools, still taking place remotely, have canceled or postponed sports seasons. But others have decided to go through with their regular seasons.

The AAP specifically said face coverings were "strongly encouraged" for indoor sports, such as ice hockey.

"The risks and benefits of indoor sports, as well as community prevalence of COVID-19 should be carefully considered when making decisions about continuing or resuming indoor sports," the AAP writes in its guidelines.

The recommendations also specify sports during which masks should not be worn, such as gymnastics due to the risk of them getting caught in apparatus, and wrestling, where they could become a "choking hazard." It also specifies swimmers and divers should not wear them and outdoor socially distanced sports, like golf, may not need them.

The number of COVID-19 deaths has gone up in 48 states and Washington, D.C., from two weeks ago, The COVID Tracking Project said Friday.

There were 2,563 deaths reported on Friday, it said.

There were 224,831 daily new cases reported and 101,276 current hospitalizations -- both new highs -- according to the tracker. 

Hospitalizations are up in 34 states and Washington, D.C., from two weeks ago, it said.

New York state reported 11,271 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday -- the highest daily figure the state has seen since mid-April, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday.

New York's daily positivity rate stands at 5.41%.

New York has the fourth-lowest infection rate in the country behind Maine, Vermont and Hawaii.

Over 70% of cases are coming from small gatherings, Cuomo said, and he called on local governments to enforce restrictions.

Cuomo said that the focus should be on the hospitalization rate rather than the infection rate.

New York has 4,222 COVID-19 patients in hospitals. The state has 53,000 hospital beds, of which 35,000 are occupied, he said.

Intensive care units have about 40% of their beds available, he said.

-ABC News' Josh Hoyos and Jamie Aranoff