The shift reflects the spread of the omicron variant.
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.
The United Kingdom recorded 106,122 new cases in the last 24 hours, surpassing 100,000 daily cases for the first time, according to government data.
That brings the total of cases over the past seven days to 643,219 -- a 58.9% jump from the previous week.
Deaths, however, are not rising. This week's death toll is down 2.7% from the week before.
-ABC News' Guy Davies
The U.S. is now averaging nearly 150,000 new COVID-19 cases every day, up about 72% in the last month. Over the last week alone, the nation has recorded more than 1 million new cases, according to federal data.
Every state in the country except for one -- Montana -- is currently experiencing high community transmission, according to federal data.
New York City, Vermont and Washington, D.C., are now averaging more daily cases than at any other point in the pandemic.
Florida is now reporting its highest number of new cases in about three months.
Since early December, Georgia's daily case average has more than doubled, while Hawaii's average has quadrupled, according to federal data.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
Six hospitals in Ohio have taken out a full-page ad in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer in a desperate plea for people to get vaccinated as the state faces a renewed surge.
The ad, which appeared in Sunday's paper, says in big letters: "Help."
"We need your help. We now have more COVID-19 patients in our hospitals than ever before," the ad says. "And the overwhelming majority are unvaccinated. This is preventable."
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced last week that he would deploy the state's National Guard to help with hospital strain. Ohio is now averaging more than 9,100 new cases every day -- up 67.5% in the last month. Statewide, more than 5,200 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19.
"The best way to avoid serious illness is the vaccine," the ad said. "So, get vaccinated and get your booster ... we need you to care as much as we do."
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
About 73% of U.S. COVID-19 cases are now the omicron variant, but that number rises to 90% in areas like New York, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told "Good Morning America" Wednesday.
"Things are moving quickly," she said. "The doubling times of this virus are very fast, around two days."
CDC director talks holiday guidance amid omicron surge
But Walensky said the booster shot "will really help" with this variant.
"What we know about omicron is that it has a lot of mutations, and with more mutations we need more immune protection. And that's really why this booster shot will really help us," Walensky said.
Asked if President Joe Biden's decision to mail 500 million free at-home rapid tests to Americans in January is too late to help the current surge, Walensky responded, "We have been ramping up testing."
"We have much more testing now than we had just months ago," she said. "And we were in the middle of a delta surge as omicron hit, so really right now there are so many things that we can do in addition to testing to keep safe -- and that really does mean getting 40 million Americans who continue to be unvaccinated vaccinated and making sure that people get that booster shot."
