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:
Texas reports new record daily death count
Texas health officials announced a record 326 deaths on Wednesday.
The previous record was set on July 23 with 278 deaths, according to health data.
The state had 17,458 new daily cases and 11,992 hospitalizations, according to the health department. There are currently 602 intensive care unit beds remaining in Texas, health officials said.
Arizona gov issues exec order to speed up vaccinations
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey issued an executive order Wednesday to speed up access to the COVID-19 vaccine in the state.
The Arizona Department of Health Services will take the lead in the vaccination rollout under the order. The department is tasked with establishing and delivering a statewide implementation model.
Currently, Arizona counties are responsible for their own implementation plans.
"This is a health emergency, and we need all levels of government and our health system operating as such. Vaccines don't do any good sitting in a freezer," Ducey said in a statement.
The state health department will have the authority to establish private distribution sites, according to the executive order.
There is no statewide data for vaccinations. The executive order mandates that all counties display their vaccination numbers on their websites and share the info with the state health department.
Maricopa County, which leads the state with over 314,000 cases, has administered at least 36,000 doses as of Wednesday, according to the county's health department.
National Guard to assist LA medical examiner as deaths exceed 10,000
Los Angeles County officials said the National Guard will be deployed next week to assist the medical examiner's office with its growing number of COVID-related deaths.
Hilda Solis, the chair of Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, said six guardsmen will arrive on Jan. 4.
"They will be assisting until the end of January. It might be extended if warranted," she said at a news conference.
The deployment comes as the county recorded 274 additional deaths Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 10,056.
"The average number of deaths is about 150 people a day," Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said at a news conference.
ABC News' Michelle Mendez contributed to this report.
New variant confirmed in California
The new COVID-19 variant, which was confirmed in one person in Colorado on Tuesday, has now been detected in Southern California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday.
Health officials in San Diego later said at a press conference the variant was found in their city, and the 30-year-old man had no history of travel, just like the person in Colorado. He has not been hospitalized, but contact tracing is underway and more cases are expected, officials said.
Dr. Anthony Fauci said to Newsom, "I am not surprised that you have a case and likely more cases in California and we will likely be seeing reports from other states."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it expects "there will be additional cases that are likely to be detected."
"Viruses constantly change through mutation, and new variants of a virus are expected to occur over time," the CDC said.
The variant doesn't appear to cause more severe disease or mortality, but does appear to have a higher transmission rate, the CDC said.
This comes as hard-hit California has reached a new record daily death toll with 432 fatalities reported in the last 24 hours, officials said Wednesday. This equals approximately one person dying every three minutes.
The Golden State has 20,612 COVID-19 patients in hospitals, including 4,389 people in intensive care units.
ICU capacity remains at 0% in the Southern California and San Joaquin Valley regions.
ABC News’ Jenna Harrison contributed to this report.
340,000 people have been vaccinated, to date, in Texas
340,000 people have been vaccinated to date in Texas, out of the state's received allotment of 786,000 vaccination doses, according to data from Texas Health and Human Services.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner also authorized the Houston Health Department to open the city's first free COVID-19 vaccination clinic on Jan. 2. The clinic will expand vaccine access to the general public at high risk of severe illness and death from coronavirus disease, according to a statement from Texas health officials.
Texas' health department received its first allotment of 3,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine and started administering it on December 28.
The Houston Health Department will announce additional free vaccination opportunities as supply increases.
-ABC News' Gina Sunseri