COVID-19 updates: Elizabeth Warren tests positive
The senator says she's experiencing "mild symptoms."
As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.3 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 806,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 61.4% 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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Israel health officials recommend putting US on no-fly list
Starting Dec. 22, the U.S. could be on Israel's no-fly list due to high COVID infection rates. All travel from Israel to the U.S. will be banned, the Israeli government announced Sunday.
The Ministry of Health has recommended that the U.S., and nine other countries including Canada, be classified as "red list" countries. The decision now awaits final approval from the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.
Israeli citizens coming to Israel from the U.S. will have to go into full isolation, including those vaccinated or recovered. Non-Israeli citizens coming from the U.S. will not be allowed to enter Israel, officials said.
At the start of the weekly cabinet, Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the fact the country is in a "relatively good situation" is "not a coincidence." He attributed delaying the entry of the variant to Israel to travel bans. "What a pity that other countries did not do as we did," he said Sunday.
In addition to the U.S., Israel also will also move Belgium, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Switzerland and Turkey to the no-fly list this week on Dec. 22. Norway, France, Spain, Sweden and the UAE will be added to Israel's no-fly list at midnight Dec. 20.
There are 52 countries on Israel's red list.
-ABC News' Christine Theodorou
UK reports 48.59% single-day increase in confirmed omicron cases
The U.K. reported a 48.59 percent single-day increase in confirmed omicron cases Sunday.
And across the U.K. in the last seven days, there's been a 51.9 percent increase in new COVID cases. Hospitalizations are up 8.1 percent during that period. However, there's been a 6.5 percent decrease in new deaths compared to the preceding seven days.
On Sunday, the British government reported 82,886 new COVID cases and 45 new deaths. The government also confirmed 12,133 new cases of the omicron variant.
London's mayor declared a major incident in the capital Sunday because of the serious threat of omicron. In an interview with the BBC on Sunday, he said that in the last 24 hours, "we're at almost 30,000 confirmed new cases, and in the last seven days almost 130,000 confirmed new cases."
He said he's worried about the impact the increases are already having on frontline emergency services in London, adding there are a record number of absences that will hamper their ability to respond to people who are unwell.
-ABC News' Christine Theodorou
No live audience, limited cast and crew for tonight's 'SNL'
"Saturday Night Live" won't have an audience and will limit its cast and crew at tonight's taping "out of an abundance of caution," the show announced, as New York sees a spike in COVID-19 cases.
"Due to the recent spike in the Omicron variant and out of an abundance of caution, there will be no live audience for tonight’s taping of 'Saturday Night Live' and the show will have limited cast and crew," tweeted the show, which films at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan.
"The show continues to follow all government safety guidelines in addition to a rigorous testing protocol," it added.
Charli XCX was slated to be the musical guest but is no longer performing due to the limited crew, the singer announced on Twitter, saying she was "devastated and heartbroken."
Paul Rudd is the host of the episode, which is the last one of 2021.
The move comes as New York state broke its record for daily COVID-19 cases two days in a row. Several shows in New York City, from Broadway productions to the Rockettes, also have had to cancel performances due to COVID-19 cases.
-ABC News' Joshua Hoyos
Harvard moving to remote learning in January
Harvard University is shifting to remote learning for the first three weeks of January due to a "rapid" rise in COVID-19 cases locally, school officials announced Saturday.
"Please know that we do not take this step lightly," school leaders said in an update to students. "It is prompted by the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases locally and across the country, as well as the growing presence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant."
Only students with previous authorization will be allowed to remain on campus. Some programs, like essential in-person laboratory and patient-centered work, will continue as normal, the school said.
"We are planning a return to more robust on-campus activities later in January, public health conditions permitting," the school officials said.
Several universities, including Princeton, NYU and Cornell, have shifted final exams remote and canceled events in recent days due to spikes in COVID-19 cases.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
NYC gearing up for surge in cases: Mayor
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio warned that the city will have to brace for a jump in COVID-19 cases as the omicron variant continues to spread.
"We expect omicron to be a fast and temporary phenomenon. We expect these next weeks to see a very, very big surge in the number of cases, more than we've seen previously," he said during a news conference Sunday.
Roughly 162 patients were confirmed positive in the hospital, the mayor said. Hospitalizations have gone up, but not at the rate health officials were expecting.
"It will undoubtly grow a bit," de Blasio said.
The city recorded 5,731 new cases of COVID-19 Sunday.
The mayor urged New Yorkers to get vaccinated and to get their booster shots. The city's health department said as of Sunday 71% of all residents are fully vaccinated.
De Blasio also recommended that people wear masks indoors.
The city will focus on vaccination efforts for children and to increase booster access in nursing homes, he said.
At-home testing kits will be handed out at high volume testing sites, according to the mayor.