COVID-19 updates: 2 cases of omicron variant confirmed in Canada, officials say

The WHO classified omicron as a "variant of concern."

ByEmily Shapiro, Morgan Winsor, Meredith Deliso, and Ayushi Agarwal
Last Updated: November 29, 2021, 4:21 AM EST

As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.2 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 776,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

Just 59.1% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Here's how the new developed. All times Eastern.
Nov 22, 2021, 2:31 PM EST

US sees another increase in pediatric cases

The U.S. has reported an increase in pediatric COVID-19 cases for the third week in a row.

Nearly 142,000 children tested positive in the last week, which is a 16% increase from the week prior and a 41% jump over the last three weeks, according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.

Nearly 6.8 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

COVID-19 cases among children remain "extremely high," the organizations said, and there have been almost 1.7 million additional cases since the first week of September.

The Midwest continues to see the highest number of pediatric cases.

Severe illness due to COVID-19 remains "uncommon" among children, AAP and CHA said. However, AAP and CHA continue to warn that there is an urgent need to collect more data on the long-term consequences of the pandemic on children, "including ways the virus may harm the long-term physical health of infected children, as well as its emotional and mental health effects."

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Nov 22, 2021, 12:44 PM EST

Hospital admissions on the rise

Daily COVID-19-related hospital admissions are on the rise in the U.S., up 8.4% in the last week, according to federal data.

Nineteen states reported at least a 10% jump in hospital admissions over the last week: Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

A healthcare professional prepares to enter a COVID-19 patient's room in the ICU at Van Wert County Hospital in Van Wert, Ohio on Nov. 20, 2020.
Megan Jelinger/AFP via Getty Images, FILE

Michigan, which is now reporting more cases than at any other point in the pandemic, has the nation's highest infection rate, followed by Minnesota, New Mexico, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Maine.

Puerto Rico, Florida and Hawaii have the nation's lowest infection rates, according to federal data.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Nov 22, 2021, 10:01 AM EST

TSA vaccine mandate won't impact holiday travel

About 93% of TSA employees are in compliance with Monday's deadline for the federal employee vaccine mandate, TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said.

"In compliance" means employees have had at least one shot or have filed for a medical or religious exemption.

Holiday travel won't be impacted by the mandate, Farbstein said.

Palm Beach International Airport, TSA security line with Face Mask required sign, Palm Beach, Fla.
Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images, FILE

-ABC News' Gio Benitez, Anne Flaherty

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