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.
Delta's flight cancellations are continuing into the weekend, with the airline citing "a combination of issues," including weather and omicron.
"Up to 200 of 3,004 flights on Saturday may be canceled, and up to 150 are expected for Sunday," Delta said.
So far on Christmas Eve there are 331 canceled flights between Delta, United and Alaska Airlines.
-ABC News' Mina Kaji
The travel restrictions on eight southern African countries, put in place by the White House when omicron emerged, will be lifted on Dec. 31, according to a senior administration official.
This decision was recommended by the CDC for two reasons, the official said: vaccines and boosters have been determined to help prevent severe disease from omicron; and omicron is already prevalent in the U.S. and around the world so travel from those eight countries won't have a major impact on U.S. cases.
New York and New Jersey set record case highs again on Thursday with 38,835 and 18,660 new daily cases respectively.
The new high came as New York saw a record high for testing as people check their status before seeing relatives for the holidays.
Illinois and Ohio also shattered pandemic case records Thursday with 18,942 and 15,989 new cases respectively, according to ABC Chicago station WLS and ABC Cincinnati affiliate WCPO.
Until this week, Ohio hadn't seen over 12,000 daily cases since January, WCPO reported.
In response to the case surge in Cook County, Illinois, which encompasses Chicago, customers must show proof of vaccine inside restaurants, bars, gyms and entertainment venues beginning Jan. 3.
Friday's Hawaii Bowl has been canceled after the University of Hawaii pulled out.
"The recent surge in COVID-19 cases has forced us to not participate in the game," the university's athletics director, David Matlin, said in a statement.
The team in a statement cited "COVID issues within the program" as well as "season-ending injuries and transfers."
Friday's game was supposed to be against the University of Memphis.
