COVID-19 updates: Austria orders nationwide lockdown for unvaccinated residents

The lockdown for unvaccinated residents began at midnight on Monday.

ByMorgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, Ivan Pereira, Meredith Deliso, and Ayushi Agarwal
Last Updated: November 15, 2021, 6:59 AM EST

As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 763,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

Just 68.8% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news developed. All times Eastern.
Nov 12, 2021, 6:18 PM EST

US cases up nearly 20% since mid-October

The U.S. is currently averaging around 76,000 new COVID-19 cases a day, up by nearly 20% since mid-October, according to an ABC News analysis of federal data.

North Dakota now has the country's highest infection rate, followed by Minnesota, Alaska and Vermont.

COVID-19 hospitalizations nationwide also increased for the fourth consecutive day Friday. More than 47,000 patients with COVID-19 are currently receiving care.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Nov 11, 2021, 2:26 PM EST

US COVID hospitalizations increase for 3rd consecutive day

Thursday marked the third consecutive day where COVID hospitalizations rose nationwide.

Fourteen states reported a 10% increase in hospital admissions over the last week. The states are Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont and Wisconsin.

Total hospitalizations are down nearly 55% since mid-August.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Nov 10, 2021, 9:21 PM EST

COVID-19 deaths expected to continue to fall in weeks to come

COVID-19 forecast models used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are currently predicting that weekly death totals will likely continue to fall in the weeks to come, though thousands of Americans are still expected to lose their lives.

The ensemble model expects just under 15,000 more virus-related deaths to occur in the U.S. over the next two weeks, with a total of around 781,500 deaths by Dec. 4.

The model estimates that 13 states and territories of the U.S. have a greater than 50% chance of having more deaths in the next two weeks compared to the past two weeks.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Nov 10, 2021, 9:15 PM EST

Federal judge strikes down Texas ban on school mask mandates

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order prohibiting local mask mandates, including in schools, violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Since the order was issued in late July, state Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed lawsuits against more than a dozen school districts for issuing mask mandates, according to the ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Lee Yeakel. In August, advocacy group Disability Rights Texas filed the lawsuit against the state on behalf of several students with disabilities who faced an increased risk from COVID-19, alleging it denied them equal access to in-person learning.

PHOTO: Gov. Greg Abbott speaks on a variety of matters at the Midland Chapter of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly's Reagan Lunch at the Bush Convention Center Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, in Midland, Texas.
Gov. Greg Abbott speaks on a variety of matters including a border wall, razor wire, critical race theory, election laws, mail-in ballots, voter fraud and more at the Midland Chapter of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly's Reagan Lunch at the Bush Convention Center Friday, Nov. 5, 2021, in Midland, Texas.
Jacob Ford/Odessa American via AP, FILE

 

"The evidence presented by Plaintiffs establishes that Plaintiffs are being denied the benefits of in-person learning on an equal basis as their peers without disabilities," Yeakel wrote in his ruling. 

Yeakel also said the executive order "interferes with local school districts’ ability to satisfy their obligations under the ADA" by placing all authority with the governor.

Yeakel enjoined the state from enforcing the mask mandate ban and ordered that the plaintiffs recover their court costs from the state.

Paxton has said the state is "protecting the rights and freedoms" of residents by banning mask mandates.

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