COVID-19 live updates: City sees fourfold increase in pediatric hospitalizations

The shift reflects the spread of the omicron variant.

ByEmily Shapiro, Ivan Pereira, Meredith Deliso, and Mary Kekatos
Last Updated: December 27, 2021, 2:21 AM EST

As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.3 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 816,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 61.7% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Dec 20, 2021, 1:51 PM EST

WHO DG recommends canceling or delaying holiday events

WHO DG recommends canceling or delaying holiday events

World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday recommended delaying or canceling holiday events.

"There is now consistent evidence that omicron is spreading significantly faster than the delta variant. And it's more likely that people who have been vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19 could be infected or re-infected," he said.

While everyone wants a return to normal, he said, the fastest way to get there is to make difficult decisions to protect ourselves and others.

"In some cases, that will mean canceling or delaying events," he said. "But an event canceled is better than a life canceled."

Teresa Hui, 40, of Brooklyn, wears 2022 numeral glasses and a face mask in Times Square ahead of New Year's Eve celebrations as the Omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread in Manhattan, New York City, Dec. 20, 2021.
Andrew Kelly/Reuters

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou

Dec 20, 2021, 1:31 PM EST

DC reinstates indoor mask mandate

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser has declared a state of emergency and is reinstating an indoor mask mandate from Dec. 21 to Jan. 31, 2022.

D.C. is also expanding testing, including offering free at-home rapid tests, the mayor said.

Congressional staff members wait in lines to be tested for COVID-19 at the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., Dec. 20, 2021.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

Dec 20, 2021, 1:02 PM EST

US daily cases have nearly doubled since October

The U.S. is now averaging more than 125,000 new cases each day -- nearly double the average from late-October, according to federal data. In the last two weeks, seven states have seen an increase of 50% or more.

People line up at a COVID-19 mobile testing site in the Manhattan borough of New York City, Dec. 17, 2021.
Carlo Allegri/Reuters

As COVID-19 cases surge, the nation continues to average nearly 1,200 new deaths each day, up by approximately 60% since Thanksgiving, according to federal data. 

About one in every 407 Americans has now died from COVID-19.

Family and friends of brothers Severiano Buck and Bace Wallace, who both died from complications of COVID-19, stand by graveside at the family plot on the Sanostee chapter of the Navajo nation in Sanostee, New Mexico, Dec. 16, 2021.
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

Family and friends of brothers Severiano Buck and Bace Wallace, who both died from complications of COVID-19, hold hands by graveside at the family plot on the Sanostee chapter of the Navajo nation in Sanostee, New Mexico, Dec. 16, 2021.
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

Daily COVID-19-related hospital admissions have jumped by about 41% in the last month, according to federal data. 

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Dec 20, 2021, 12:40 PM EST

Omicron will present 'very challenging few weeks' for New York City

The omicron surge will bring "a very challenging few weeks" to New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday.

"We are going to see a surge of cases in a few weeks, then we think we will see it trail off," the mayor said.

New York City is adding 23 new city-run testing sites this week to respond to skyrocketing demand, the mayor said. That will bring the number of city-run sites to 112.

-ABC News' Aaron Katersky, Will McDuffie