COVID-19 updates: Classes in Chicago canceled for 4th day
Chicago Public Schools has been in talks with teachers over COVID-19 safety.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 837,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 62.5% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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'Mrs. Doubtfire' pauses performances amid COVID surge
"Mrs. Doubtfire the Musical" has becomes the latest Broadway show to announce it is pausing performances amid the rapidly rising number of COVID-19 cases in New York City.
In a post shared on Twitter, producers announced the musical will "be taking a hiatus" between Jan. 10 and March 14.
Anyone with tickets for performances during the hiatus can either exchange for performances after March 15 or request a refund.
Puerto Rico's COVID positivity rate jumps from 2% to 33%
Puerto Rico's COVID-19 positivity rate spiked to 33% on Monday, according to the island’s health department COVID dashboard.
This is a 16-fold jump from the 2% positivity rate reported just two weeks ago, which was a record low.
Scientist Mónica Feliú-Mójer from Ciencia PR, an organization that focuses on scientific education in Puerto Rico, said the rapid increase is due to many factors, including people's behavior.
She said people gathering over the holidays, while a highly transmissible variant continued to spread, led to the spike in the positivity rate.
“The holidays are culturally very, very important and everyone thought this would be a different Christmas. People were eager to get together,” Feliú-Mójer told ABC News.
Read more here.
-ABC News' Cristina Corujo
South Korea reports first 2 omicron deaths
South Korea on Monday reported the deaths of two patients in their 90s who tested positive for omicron.
Both were receiving treatment in Gwangju, about 200 miles south of Seoul, the semi-official Yonhap News Agency said.
South Korean health officials reported 111 new omicron cases on Monday, bringing its total to 1,318 omicron cases.
About 83% of South Korea's population has been fully vaccinated, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. About 36% received a booster.
Israel approves 4th vaccine dose for people 60 and over
Israel's Ministry of Health approved a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine for health care workers and people over 60 years old, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said.
"Israel will once again be pioneering the global vaccination effort," Bennett said at a press conference in Jerusalem. "Omicron is not Delta -- it’s a different ball-game altogether."
Fourth doses will be administered four months after booster shots, Bennett said.
ABC News' Jordana Miller
1 in 5 Americans have tested positive for COVID-19
The U.S. recorded more than 705,000 COVID-19 cases Thursday and is currently averaging 586,000 new cases per day -- the highest ever recorded during the pandemic. new federal data shows.
With a total confirmed case count of 58.8 million COVID-19 infections, this means one in approximately every five Americans have tested positive for the virus.
New York City is currently recording the country's highest case rate, followed by New Jersey and New York state
Meanwhile, the U.S. is reporting an average of about 1,200 new COVID-19 deaths per day, up by about 10% in the last week.
The death toll currently stands at 834,000, meaning about 1 in every 393 Americans has died from COVID-19.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos