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

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

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

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

Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said Thursday that students should be back in classrooms after winter break despite the surge of the highly transmissible omicron variant.

"If you're fully staffed to provide a safe school environment, students should be in the classroom full-time, every day," he told "Good Morning America's" Whit Johnson.

"We've done this before. We did it before vaccines were available. If you recall, we re-opened schools this year right at the height of the delta variant," Cardona said.

Several school districts across the country said they will require negative tests from students before they can enter classrooms, but Cardona said he doesn't know if that's necessary.

"I do believe all students should have access to testing, but I don't know that it needs to be required," he said.

He continued, "We need to make sure they get into class safely and stay in the classroom."

-ABC News' Molly Nagle