COVID updates: Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin tests positive
He said he has mild symptoms and will be quarantining for five days.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 825,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 62% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Latest headlines:
US marks 3rd day of record new COVID-19 cases
The U.S. recorded more than 486,000 new COVID-19 cases in a day, marking the third straight day of record numbers, according to data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The new data comes as states are going through their huge backlogs of tests taken during the Christmas weekend.
In the last week, the U.S. has reported more than 2.2 million new cases, which averages out to about 220 Americans testing positive for COVID-19 every minute.
The CDC will not be providing new data updates until Jan. 3, due to the New Year's holiday.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
Michigan health officials urge schools to delay sports
Officials from Michigan's Department of Health and Human Services sent a letter to schools across the state urging them to either postpone large gatherings or make them virtual.
"Large gatherings (involving 100 or more people) should be held using remote technology or postponed, if not essential. Large gatherings would include events with large numbers of people from multiple households such as conferences or meetings, sporting events, and concerts," the letter read.
The state also urged schools to require masks for everyone who enters school buildings and to test students regularly.
-ABC News' Will McDuffie
US hospitalizations doubled since early November: HHS
More than 90,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, which is double the number since November, according to a memo from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
On average, more than 9,400 Americans are being admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 every day, a 20% increase compared to the last week, HHS said.
The hospitalization numbers are still roughly three-quarters of the same period in 2020, the data showed.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos and Josh Margolin
South Africa may have passed 4th wave: Presidency
Mondli Gungubele, the South Africa's Minister in the Presidency, tweeted some promising updates on the country's current COVID-19 surge.
The country's health department saw a 29.7% decrease in the number of new cases detected in the week ending Dec. 25 compared to the previous week.
"All indicators suggest the country may have passed the peak of the fourth wave at a national level," the minister tweeted.
South Africa was one of the first nations to record the omicron COVID-19 variant and saw cases spike in late November.
The health department said that while the omicron variant is highly transmissible, the country's hospitalization rates were lower than in previous waves.
South African officials announced they will lift several restrictions, including its curfew and crowd limits for indoor and outdoor activities.
-ABC News' Christine Theodorou
Fauci recommends against big New Year's parties
Dr. Anthony Fauci strongly recommended against large New Year's Eve parties at Wednesday's White House briefing.
"Should you change or cancel your plans? If your plans are to go to a 40-50 person New Year's Eve party with all the bells and whistles and everybody hugging and kissing and wishing each other a happy new year, I would strongly recommend that this year, we do not do that," Fauci said.
Fauci said "all indications point to a lesser severity of omicron versus delta." But he warned, "we should not become complacent since our hospital system could still be stressed in certain areas."
White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said, "We have directly helped more than 30 states and territories by deploying over 2,100 federal personnel and thousands of ambulances, ventilators and other critical supplies."
Supplies include gloves, masks, respirators and face shields, he said.
He added, "More than 13,000 National Guard members have been activated in 48 states to support the COVID response, from vaccinations, to testing, to clinical care."
At the briefing, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky defended the agency's shortened isolation guidelines.
"We do know the vast majority of viral transmission happens in those first five days, somewhere in the 85 to 90% range. So if a person can isolate for the first five days they absolutely should," she said. "We also don't know that antigen tests give a good indication of transmissibility at this stage of infection. On the other hand, we know that after five days people are much less likely to transmit the virus and that masking further reduces that risk. And this is why people need to mask for five days after the five days of isolation."
After five days, asymptomatic people with COVID-19 can leave isolation, but must wear masks around others, according to the new guidelines.
-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett