Coronavirus updates: State reports over 49,000 new cases, 468 new deaths

COVID-19 deaths in Los Angeles County have reached 11,000 as hospitalizations have increased to critical levels, according to Los Angeles County health officials.

As of Tuesday, officials identified 840,611 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 11,071 deaths.

Dr. Barbara Ferrer, L.A. County Director of Public Health, said the county must continue to wear masks and social distance and not just wait for the coronavirus vaccine.

"As a community, we must commit to stopping the spread of COVID-19 in its tracks so that we can save as many lives as possible. Roll out for COVID-19 vaccine continues in the phases recommended by the State and CDC as supply allows," Ferrer said in a statement Tuesday. "And while vaccines are a powerful tool, we do not need to wait for vaccine to stop new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and death. We can do that now.

"It takes every business and every resident to purposefully follow public health directives and safety measures. Please stay home and leave only for essential work or essential services," Ferrer said.

The county reported 224 new COVID-related deaths Tuesday along with 13,512 new cases. L.A. County has had more than 1,000 new COVID-19 deaths in less than a week, according to health officials. There are a record 7,898 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in L.A. County and 21% of those are in intensive care units.

"Health care workers and hospitals continue to be taxed and overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients," the L.A. County Health Department said in a statement Tuesday. "The devastating impact of the pandemic is disrupting emergency medical care due to the sheer volume of COVID-19 patients and staffing limitations. These challenges will get worse if we don’t slow COVID-19 spread."

Florida will join forces with Publix supermarkets to launch additional COVID-19 vaccinations sites, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday.

Publix, the state health department and Florida's division of emergency management will work together on a pilot program at 22 Publix locations in Citrus, Hernando and Marion counties. According to the governor's office, Publix will receive 15,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine through the partnership.

By-appointment vaccinations are slated to start Jan. 8. They will start accepting appointments on Jan. 7.

-ABC News' Rachel Katz contributed to this report.

Georgia has detected a case of the new coronavirus variant known B.1.1.7, which was first identified in the United Kingdom, state health officials announced Tuesday.

The patient is an 18-year-old man with no travel history, who is currently isolated at home.

"The emergence of this variant in our state should be a wake-up call for all Georgians," Dr. Katheen Toomey, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health, said in a statement on Tuesday. "Even as we begin roll out of a COVID-19 vaccine, we must not let down our guard and ignore basic prevention measures -- wear a mask, social distance and wash your hands frequently."

While preliminary evidence suggests that the new variant is more contagious than the old one, it is not believed to cause more severe illness or to be more deadly. Cases of the new variant have also been detected in Colorado, California, Florida and New York.

-ABC News' Brian Hartman contributed to this report.

After the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning on Monday that COVID-19 tests produced by the company Curative carry the risk of "false negative results," attending physician of the U.S. Congress Dr. Brian Monahan sent a memo notifying Capitol Hill employees that the Capitol's testing system uses Curative tests.

In the Jan. 4 memo obtained by ABC News, Monahan described the Curative test as "the most accurate available" according to information he'd received to date and noted that the risk of a false negative "is a problem for all coronavirus tests."

"The FDA notice does not raise any doubts about the accuracy of a positive test result," Monahan added. "We expect to have additional information in the coming days from the FDA and our expert consultants with regard to any concerns about the ongoing use of this test for the Capitol community."

-ABC News' Mariam Khan and Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.