Coronavirus updates: 1st vaccines now on the way to all 50 US states

A snow leopard at the Louisville Zoo in Kentucky has SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories.

Testing is ongoing for two other snow leopards.

“Samples from three snow leopards were taken after they showed signs of respiratory illness,” the Department of Agriculture said. “It is suspected that they acquired the infection from an asymptomatic staff member, despite precautions taken by the zoo.”

All three animals are expected to fully recover.  

This is the first snow leopard in the U.S. to test positive for SARS-CoV-2, though there have been confirmed cases in other big cats in zoos and conservations centers.

ABC News’ Stephanie Ebbs contributed to this report.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar told "Good Morning America" that vaccinations could come Monday or Tuesday.

He said the Pfizer vaccine will be approved, they are just working out the details and finalizing the fact sheet on allergy warnings.

"We weren't counting on it in terms of getting to the projections that you and I have talked about about having enough vaccine for the second quarter," he said. "The Sanofi vaccine could be an important additional technology for later rounds of vaccination as one goes forward later in 2021."

Azar also said the Food and Drug Administration will proceed with the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

He said 20 million Americans will be vaccinated this month, up to 50 million total in January and the U.S. believes "we could have 100 million vaccinations in arm by the end of February."

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti shared "astounding" COVID-19 figures in a press briefing Thursday.

"In Los Angeles, someone is dying of COVID-19 every 20 minutes," the mayor said, as he reported that there were 74 new deaths from the virus in the county.

Los Angeles County reported a record 12,819 new COVID-19 cases, surpassing Sunday's record of 10,528. Cases have increased 1,000% in the past month-and-a-half, the mayor said.

Intensive care unit bed capacity has also dropped to 7.7%, he said.

"Today's COVID-19 data from LA County is the most devastating since the start of this pandemic," Garcetti said.

The mayor said there is a "light at the end of the tunnel." LA County could begin distributing vaccines early next week if one is authorized soon, he said.

The county could receive up to 83,000 doses in the next couple of days, and as many as 500,000 doses by the end of December, he said.

"I urge all Angelinos to get vaccinated as soon as they qualify," Garcetti said. "The end of this pandemic is finally, finally in sight."

-ABC News' Michelle Mendez contributed to this report.

The number of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. increased dramatically in the past week, according to an internal memo from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services obtained by ABC News Thursday night.

There were 16,237 deaths recorded from Dec. 4-10, marking a 44.3% increase in new deaths compared with the previous seven-day period, the memo said.

There were 1,449,322 new cases confirmed during that period -- a 26.9% increase week-over-week, according to the memo.

Across the country, 30% of hospitals have more than 80% of their intensive care unit beds filled, and 31% of ventilators in use are occupied by COVID-19 patients, HHS said.  

Several states are seeing hospital strain.

COVID-19 hospitalizations in Nevada doubled from mid-October to mid-November, and projections show hospital capacity being surpassed in the next 30 days, HHS said. 

In Pennsylvania, the seven-day hospitalization rate hit a new four-month peak on Dec. 6, and officials warned that hospitals will be overwhelmed if residents do not take precautions, the memo said.

-ABC News' Josh Margolin