Coronavirus updates: US reports nearly 300,000 new cases in all-time high

December was the deadliest month of the pandemic in the U.S., even with data disruptions due to the holidays, according to The COVID Tracking Project. 

There were 76,580 reported deaths due to COVID-19 this month, far surpassing the previous record of 55,267 set in April. Every week in December was deadlier than any week earlier in the year, the tracker said.

There were 221,444 new cases and 3,255 deaths reported on Thursday, according to the tracker. A record 125,379 people are also currently hospitalized with COVID-19.

There continue to be disruptions in testing, case and death figures due to the holidays, though hospitalizations "remain relatively stable," the tracker said.

Los Angeles County reported a record-breaking 290 new COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, health officials said. 

There have been 10,345 total COVID-19 deaths in the county. 

Someone dies of COVID-19 in L.A. County every 10 minutes, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said. All day Thursday, the department is tweeting a description of a potential COVID-19 victim every 10 minutes.

Barbara Ferrer, director of the health department, warned that "hundreds more people" will die each week from COVID-19 and urged people to stay home this New Year's Eve and throughout the weekend.

"As we see 2020 come to a close, we are experiencing extreme conditions in LA County," Ferrer said during a briefing. "With no decline in the number of new cases, our hospitals continue to be overwhelmed."

The county reported 15,129 new cases while 7,546 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, officials said. The daily test-positivity rate is an "alarming" 22%, Ferrer said. 

The latest numbers come as the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is mobilizing a "super-spreader task force" to target illegal parties. 

As of Wednesday, the department had made 235 arrests this month at "super-spreader" events, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said. 

ABC News' Matthew Fuhrman and Michelle Mendez contributed to this report.

A California bar owner has been charged for allegedly breaking his county's COVID-19 curfew, authorities said Thursday.

Roland Michael Barrera, the owner of the Westend Bar in Costa Mesa, has been charged with one misdemeanor count of violating and neglecting to obey a lawful order and regulation, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said.

Barrera has "repeatedly" refused to follow the county's curfew order for nonessential businesses, the district attorney's office alleged.

All nonessential businesses must close between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. due to an emergency lockdown order issued on Nov. 19, the office said. "On multiple occasions the Westend Bar continued to operate outside of the mandated closure time," the district attorney's office said in a statement.

The bar has also allegedly hosted "50-70 customers without enforcing social distancing or facial coverings for their employees or customers," it said.

Until now, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said it has declined to file charges in nearly two dozen cases against business owners accused of operating illegally during the pandemic. The charge comes after law enforcement made "repeated attempts" to educate Barrera on the law and seek voluntary compliance, authorities said.

A manager of the bar has also been charged with one misdemeanor count of resisting a police officer after allegedly grabbing a uniformed officer and "physically trying to prevent him from entering the Westend Bar" on Dec. 12, the district attorney's office said.

Both the bar owner and manager face a maximum sentence of one year in jail if convicted, though the DA's office said it hopes to pursue educational efforts instead of jail time. They are scheduled to be arraigned on June 22, 2021.  ABC News' attempts to reach them were unsuccessful.

ABC News' Matthew Fuhrman contributed to this report.

A former employee at Aurora Medical Center in Grafton, Wisconsin, has been arrested for "intentionally" removing Moderna vaccines from refrigeration, authorities said Thursday.

Over 500 doses were spoiled, and 57 people received less-effective doses of the vaccine, Dr. Jeff Bahr, president of Aurora Health Care Medical Group, said Thursday.

On Dec. 26, a pharmacy technician found 57 vials of the vaccine, equivalent to 570 doses, outside the refrigerator in which those vials were meant to be stored. The vaccine vials were returned to the refrigerator and the technician reported the incident to superiors.

The “pharmacist responsible for removing the vials” initially maintained that the “incident was an inadvertent error that occurred while the individual was accessing other items from the same refrigerator," Bahr said. However, an investigation revealed that the employee “admitted yesterday to intentionally removing the vaccine from refrigeration,” Bahr said.

The individual also “admitted to removing and then returning the vaccine to the refrigerator overnight, on the evening of Dec. 24 into Dec. 25,” Bahr said. No vaccinations were administered on either day, he said.

The Moderna vaccine must be kept refrigerated between 36 and 46 degrees Fahrenheit, and based on available information, the hospital initially determined that the vaccine was still able to be administered given the allowable 12-hour post-refrigeration window. After 57 doses of the vaccine were administered on Dec. 26, the remainder of that vaccine was discarded, when it was deemed ineffective, following an internal review.

The recipients of those vaccines were subsequently notified, and Bahr said that at this time, that although the vaccines are considered "less effective or ineffective," there is no evidence that the vaccinations pose any harm to them.

Aurora Health has been in communication with Moderna, and the biotech company has assured the health company that there are no safety concerns pertaining to administering a vaccine that may have been out of refrigeration for too long.

The health care company will continue to work with Moderna and the Food and Drug Administration to identify a strategy for future vaccinations for those 57 people.

"It's become clear that this was a situation involving a bad actor, as opposed to a bad process," Bahr said.

The value of the spoiled doses was estimated to be between $8,000 and $11,000, the Grafton Police Department said.

The former employee was arrested Thursday on recommended charges of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, adulterating a prescription drug and criminal damage to property -- all felonies. His name is being withheld at this time, and he is currently being held in the Ozaukee County jail, authorities said.

The FBI and the FDA are also investigating.

ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos contributed to this report.