Coronavirus updates: US reports nearly 300,000 new cases in all-time high
A staggering 299,087 new cases were confirmed over the past 24 hours.
A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 84.6 million people worldwide and killed over 1.8 million of them, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Latest headlines:
UK reports highest daily rise in infections since pandemic's start
British health authorities reported 41,385 new COVID-19 cases Monday, the highest daily rise since the pandemic began. Over the last seven days, 256,220 people tested positive, which is a 25.7% increase in positive tests since the week prior.
England's Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance said last week that the newly identified U.K. variant is more dominant and significantly more transmissible than the old coronavirus variant.
There’s no evidence the new variants are more deadly and it’s highly likely the vaccine will still work, experts said at a virtual Q&A hosted by the World Health Organization last week.
In total, the U.K. has reported 2,329,730 infections and 71,109 deaths from the virus.
-ABC News' Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.
70 Americans test positive every 30 seconds
One out of 17 Americans, a total of 19 million people, have tested positive for coronavirus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. One in 1,000 have died from the virus.
Since some states don't report and others give incomplete updates over the holidays, last week's data doesn't provide an up-to-date picture of the U.S. outbreak. But even without those numbers, December's forecast remains grim, according to an ABC News analysis of data from The COVID Tracking Project.
Since Dec. 1, there has not been a single day with less than 1,000 COVID-19 related deaths reported, the data showed.
The United States logged more than 5.4 million COVID-19 cases in December, more than any month on record and roughly equivalent to 70 Americans testing positive for the virus every 30 seconds.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos contributed to this report.
1st nursing home resident in NJ receives COVID-19 vaccine
New Jersey vaccinated its first nursing home resident, a 103-year-old resident of Roosevelt Care Center in Old Bridge Monday.
Mildred Clements, a Newark native who has lived through two pandemics, was met by a round of applause from the governor and state health commissioner after receiving her shot. Residents and staff at roughly 90 long-term care facilities in New Jersey are slated to start vaccinations Monday, according to the governor's office.
-ABC News' Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
TSA reports highest number of airline passengers since pandemic hit
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on Sunday saw the highest number of people screened at the airport since the pandemic hit, a spokesperson tweeted Monday.
The 1,284,599 people screened at airports nationwide marks the sixth day in the last 10 with more than 1 million airline screenings. "If you choose to travel, please wear a mask," Lisa Farbstein, the TSA spokesperson, wrote on Twitter.
-ABC News' Michael Kreisel contributed to this report.