As of Thursday, the city of Los Angeles had vaccinated 152,612 people against COVID-19 at five city-run vaccination sites. The problem, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said, is supply. The city needs more vaccines.

Though California has said eligibility may go by age, Garcetti asked for flexibility Thursday so the city can get vaccines into communities where people are disproportionately dying -- specifically communities of color.

"The next group designated to be moved into receiving the vaccines in the coming weeks will be our workers in emergency services, as well as food and education and child care," Garcetti said.

The city has increased vaccine rollout by 17% since last week, Garcetti said, and its Dodger Stadium site is vaccinating 12,000 people per day. The entire county received 137,000 doses this week and expects 188,000 next week, according to Los Angeles County Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer.

"The city has distributed 81% of the doses that we have received," the mayor said. "This number is among the highest in the country, higher than many of our peer cities."

COVID-19 stats continue to improve in the hardest-hit county in America. Hospitalizations were down 3% and cases were down 3.4% from Wednesday, Garcetti said. However, Los Angeles County still reported 273 deaths from the disease on Thursday, crossing 16,000 total.

ABC News' Cammeron Parrish contributed to this report.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor signed an executive order Thursday requiring the use of face coverings at outdoor Super Bowl-related activities to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the Florida city.

The order targets sites where large crowds of people are likely to congregate around the Super Bowl this weekend, with limited ability to remain socially distant from each other. They include "Event Zones" in areas of downtown Tampa and surrounding Raymond James Stadium, as well as "Entertainment Districts," including Ybor City Historic District, the South Howard Commercial Overlay District, the Central Business District and the Channel District.

Those exempt from the order include children under the age of 5, someone communicating with a hearing-impaired individual and people with existing health conditions who would be impaired by a mask.

The Super Bowl will be held on Feb. 7 between the Kansas City Chiefs and hometown Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The mask mandate is in effect now through Feb. 13. Those who violate it could be subject to a $500 fine.

The NFL had previously announced that masks will be required in the stadium unless eating or drinking.

Under a previous order still in effect, masks are required in Tampa at indoor locations outside the home when social distancing cannot be maintained.

ABC News' Will McDuffie contributed to this report

California had its second-deadliest day of the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday, with 737 additional fatalities from COVID-19.

The deadliest day was Jan. 21 when 764 deaths from the disease were recorded, according to data from the California Department of Public Health.

This comes as the daily number of new COVID-19 cases has dropped considerably in the Golden State.

California's seven-day positivity rate for COVID-19 tests currently stands at 7.9%.

ABC News’ Bonnie Mclean contributed to this report.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has amended rules on who can administer COVID-19 vaccines to address potential shortages.

Any retired nurse or doctor whose license expired in the past five years can now be brought back to give the shot, and anyone licensed or certified to give a COVID-19 vaccine in their state can do so in other states.

ABC News’ Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.

The United States’ first known cases of the South Africa variant of the novel coronavirus have been confirmed in two people in South Carolina, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.

"There is no known travel history and no connection between these two cases," the department said in a statement Thursday.

Both cases are among adults, one who is from the Lowcountry region and another who is from the Pee Dee region, according to the department.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it's aware of the cases and it "recommends that people avoid travel at this time."

The so-called B1351 variant, first identified in South Africa, has been detected in more than 30 countries, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.

"Experts agree that existing vaccines work to protect us from this variant, even if we don’t know precisely how effective they are," the department said. "At this time, there’s no evidence to suggest that the B.1.351 variant causes more severe illness."

During an interview Thursday on ABC's "Good Morning America," Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden and the nation's leading infectious disease expert, said the South Africa variant "troubles" him.

Fauci said lab experiments show the neutralizing antibodies induced by existing COVID-19 vaccines are "diminished by multifold" when tested against the B1351 variant

"It's still within the range of what you would predict to be protective," he said, "but I take no great comfort in that."

However, scientists are already working on vaccines that will specifically target the South Africa variant, according to Fauci.

"May not be necessary," he said, "but if it is we'll already be on the road to be able to give people a boost that directs against the South African isolate."