Coronavirus updates: 84% of California population to go on lockdown Sunday night
More than 33 million people in the state will be affected by the lockdown.
A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 66.4 million people and killed over 1.5 million worldwide, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
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Number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 nearly 99K in US
The number of people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in the U.S. reached a new high on Tuesday, with 98,691 hospitalizations, according to the COVID-19 Tracking Project.
Indiana, Nevada and South Dakota are reporting more than 500 currently hospitalized per million people, the project said.
The data is still being disrupted by the Thanksgiving holiday, as several states reported data for more than one day and others only published partial updates on Tuesday, the COVID Tracking Project said.
The number of daily deaths from COVID-19 is starting to rebound after a post-holiday drop, it noted, with 2,473 reported on Tuesday.
Positivity rate nears 12% in LA County
The daily COVID-19 test positivity rate in Los Angeles County is almost 12% -- up from 7% one week ago, health officials said Tuesday.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 7,593 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, which breaks a previous record set last week.
The numbers signal that "the virus is infecting more people at a faster rate than ever seen in L.A. County before," officials said.
There are 2,316 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. That number has gone up nearly every day since Nov. 1, when it was 799, officials said.
"We are in the middle of an accelerating surge in a pandemic of huge magnitude," Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. "This is not the time to skirt or debate the safety measures that protect us because we need every single person to use every tool available to stop the surge and save lives.”
The county began a modified stay-at-home order on Monday, putting new limits on gatherings, activities and business occupancy. The order lasts until at least Dec. 20.
-ABC News' Jen Watts contributed to this report
Ventilator use, ICU patients rising: HHS
Ventilator use and the number of COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit are on the rise in the U.S., according to an internal Health and Human Services memo obtained by ABC News Tuesday evening.
Thirty percent of ventilators in use are occupied by COVID-19 patients. That number is slightly up from the previous HHS memo. The peak was 45% in April.
About 28% of hospitals have more than 80% of their ICU beds filled. That number, which was 17%-18% during the summertime peak, is also up slightly.
The number of inpatients with COVID-19 is 21% -- which is quickly approaching the all-time peak of 24%.
-ABC News' Josh Margolin
1st vaccines should go to health care workers, long-term care facilities, expert panel says
Health care personnel and residents of long-term care facilities should be the first people in line to receive a potential COVID-19 vaccine, an independent group of medical experts that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 13-1 on the recommendation in an emergency virtual meeting on Tuesday.
The panel's recommendations will be sent to the CDC, but ultimately it will be up to each state to determine whether to follow the guidelines on vaccine distribution.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos