COVID-19 updates: Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico leading nation in cases

Michigan has the highest infection rate, followed by Minnesota and New Mexico.

ByMorgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, and Meredith Deliso
Last Updated: November 19, 2021, 8:45 AM EST

As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.1 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 771,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

Just 69% 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 19, 2021, 8:45 AM EST

FDA authorizes Moderna and Pfizer boosters for all adults

The FDA on Friday said it has authorized Pfizer and Moderna boosters for all adults, six months after the second shot.

Vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine sit in a cooler before being thawed at a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination site in the Bronx, New York, Jan. 26, 2021.
Mary Altaffer/AP, FILE

“With boosters, more adults will now have the opportunity to help preserve a high-level of protection against this disease," Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement.

“This emergency use authorization comes at a critical time as we enter the winter months and face increasing COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations across the country,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement.

As for next steps, the CDC's independent advisory committee is meeting Friday afternoon to discuss boosters for all.

CDC director Rochelle Walensky will issue CDC recommendations, which is the last step in the regulatory process.-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett

Nov 19, 2021, 6:35 AM EST

Austria to enter full lockdown, make vaccination mandatory

Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced Friday that the country will go into a full nationwide lockdown to curb a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections.

"We do not want a fifth wave," Schallenberg warned.

The lockdown will begin Monday and last for at least 10 days before the situation is reassessed. If the number of new COVID-19 cases has not dropped significantly, the lockdown can be extended to a maximum of 20 days.

Under the restrictions, people will be told to work from home, non-essential shops will close and public gatherings will be canceled. Schools will remain open for students who require in-person learning, but parents have been asked to keep their children at home if possible.

PHOTO: People walk over through a shopping street in Vienna, Austria, on Nov. 19, 2021.
People walk over through a shopping street in Vienna, Austria, on Nov. 19, 2021. Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced that the country will go into a nationwide lockdown to contain a fourth wave of COVID-19 cases. Schallenberg said the lockdown will begin on Nov. 22 and initially last for 10 days.
Lisa Leutner/AP

COVID-19 vaccination will also become mandatory by law in Austria, starting on Feb. 1.

It's the first country in Europe to make COVID-19 vaccines compulsory and the first to reimpose a full lockdown this winter, as the continent grapples with rising infections.

The Austrian government had initially imposed a nationwide lockdown only for the unvaccinated that began last Monday.

Nov 18, 2021, 9:11 PM EST

Masks cut COVID-19 incidence by 53%, new analysis finds

Mask-wearing cuts COVID-19 incidence by 53%, according to a new analysis that pooled results from multiple studies. 

The analysis, published Thursday in the medical journal The BMJ, found that mask-wearing, social distancing and hand-washing were all effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19.  

The bulk of the studies included in the analysis were conducted before mass vaccinations. The researchers, who were from several universities in Australia, Scotland and China, said that more studies are needed to understand the effectiveness of these public health measures in the context of widespread vaccination coverage.

-ABC News' Guy Davies, Esra Demirel and Sony Salzman

Nov 18, 2021, 2:19 PM EST

Northeast, Midwest see biggest jump in cases, hospitalizations

The Northeast and Midwest are seeing the largest jump in cases and hospitalizations, according to federal data.

Adrian James, 2, who tested positive for COVID-19, receives treatment at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, Oct. 5, 2021.
Callaghan O'hare/Reuters

ICU nurse Samantha Lazzara, left, and Judith Mclean, right, a patient care technician, put on PPE gear before entering a COVID-19 patient's room in the ICU unit at Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital on Oct. 1, 2021, in Lake Forest, Ill.
Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images, FILE

Twenty-seven states have seen at least a 10% jump in daily cases over the last two weeks: Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, New York City, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont and Wisconsin.

Eighteen states have seen at least a 10% increase in hospital admissions over the last week: Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

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