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:
UCLA pulls out of bowl game
UCLA said its football team has pulled out of Tuesday night's San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl due to COVID-19.
UCLA was set to play North Carolina State.
-ABC News' Matt Fuhrman
Greece sees record single-day increase
Greece reported 21,657 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday -- a record 133% increase from the 9,284 new cases reported on Monday, according to government data.
Eighty-five percent of COVID-19 patients in Greece's hospitals are not vaccinated.
-ABC News' Christine Theodorou
US cases, hospitalizations, deaths expected to rise
Forecast models used by the CDC suggest cases, hospitalizations and deaths will rise over the next four weeks.
According to the models, the U.S. death toll could reach 862,900 by Jan. 22.
Nationally, estimates suggest between 8,700 and 20,800 Americans could be admitted to the hospital each day by Jan. 10.
These forecasts are from the COVID-19 Forecast Hub at UMass Amherst, where a team monitors and combines forecasting models from the nation’s top researchers. The team then creates an ensemble -- displayed like a hurricane forecast spaghetti plot -- usually with a wide cone of uncertainty.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos, Brian Hartman
Hugh Jackman tests positive, The Music Man cancels performances
Hugh Jackman, who has been starring in The Music Man on Broadway, tweeted that he tested positive for COVID-19 Tuesday morning.
"My symptoms are like a cold -- I have a scratchy throat and a bit of a runny nose," Jackman said in an Instagram video. "But I'm fine and I'm just going to do everything I can to get better ASAP. And as soon as I'm cleared, I'll be back on stage."
The Music Man tweeted that all performances are canceled through Jan. 1 and that Jackman will be back in the show on Jan. 6.
UK, Italy, Greece report record new daily cases
The United Kingdom, Italy and Greece broke records on Wednesday for daily new COVID-19 cases, according to government health officials.
The Greek government reported a record increase for new cases for a third consecutive day with 28,828 new cases and 72 COVID-19-related deaths.
About 64.3% of the population is fully vaccinated and 26.5% have received a booster or third dose, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
Health Minister Thanos Plevris announced on Wednesday that new restrictions will go into effect on Jan. 3, but Greece's Kathimerini newspaper reported that the government has decided to put them into effect at 6 p.m. local time on Thursday.
Italian health authorities recorded another record increase on Wednesday with 98,0303 new COVID-19 cases and 148 deaths.
Semi-official ANSA reported Wednesday's positivity rate is 9.5% and there are 1,185 patients in ICUs. About 51.7% of Italy's residents are fully vaccinated and 24.9% have received a booster or 3rd dose, per the ECDC.
UK health officials recorded 183,037 new cases and 57 deaths. The record-setting new case number included five days of data from Northern Ireland, which last published data on Dec. 24, according to health officials.
About 82.3% of adults in the UK have received two vaccine doses and 57.5% have received a booster, according to government data.
-ABC News' Christine Theodorou