With only eight days left, December has already gone down as the deadliest month of the pandemic, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

As of Wednesday, 57,638 Americans died from the virus in December, according to the health data. April is the second deadliest month of the year with 55,267 fatalities, according to the Tracking Project.

The daily hospitalization rate broke another record Wednesday with 119,463 Americans hospitalized with the virus.

"The 7-day average for hospitalizations is at a record 115k," the tracking project tweeted.

The White House Coronavirus Task Force urged state leaders to step up their messaging when it comes to health warnings as the number of cases continues to rise across the country, according to a report for governors that was obtained by ABC News.

The rise in cases is now in states home to more than 80% of the American population, according to the report.

"Preventing a post-Christmas/Kwanzaa surge is critical through clear and continuous messaging: 'To preserve our hospital system for you, we need you to wear masks, physically distance, wash hands, and avoid crowds and social gatherings beyond your immediate family,'" the report said.

The task force reported that the current surge is currently plateauing at 10 times the daily cases of the spring surge and three and a half times the daily cases of the summer surge.

The number of COVID-19 inpatients is three times the number of spring inpatients and more than double the summer surge, according to the report.

Weekly fatalities are greater than the spring surge and two and a half times greater than the summer surge, according to the task force.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.

Texas recorded 19,185 coronavirus cases Wednesday, a new record for the state, according to the Texas Health Department.

Its previous record was on Dec. 17, with nearly 17,000 new cases reported.

The state recorded 294 new deaths on Wednesday and there are 10,574 people hospitalized statewide, according to the Health Department.

Texas has recorded 1,451,256 cases so far, the Health Department said.

One day into the NBA's new season, the league announced that a game has been postponed due to COVID-19 related issues.

The game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets was put on hold after three Rockets players tested positive or inconclusive, according to the league. Four other players are quarantining following contact tracing procedures, the NBA said.

"Additionally, James Harden is unavailable due to a violation of the Health and Safety Protocols. All other Rockets players were tested again today, and all returned negative results," the league said in a statement.

One other player was unavailable due to an injury and the Rockets did not have the mandatory eight-player roster to play the game, according to the NBA.

Over the last 24 hours, more than two Americans tested positive for COVID-19 every second, and two deaths reported every minute, according to ABC News’ analysis of data compiled by the COVID Tracking Project.

More Americans are now hospitalized with COVID-19 than ever before. There are 119,163 Americans currently hospitalized, marking the 19th day that the U.S. has hit a record high of current hospitalizations this month.

Current hospitalizations have increased by nearly 40% in the last month. The total number of patients hospitalized is now approximately double the spring and summer peaks in April and July.

Hospitalizations are on the rise in every region of the country except for the Midwest. Over 44,000 people are hospitalized in the South and over 30,500 people are hospitalized the West -- both record highs.

California has the most hospitalizations of any state with more than 19,000 hospitalized, followed by Texas, New York and Pennsylvania.

ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos contributed to this report.