A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 75.5 million people worldwide and killed over 1.6 million of them, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Here's how the news is developing today. All times Eastern.
Dec 16, 2020, 6:39 PM EST
NBA updates COVID testing as opening night approaches
The NBA and NBA Players Association released their latest update on their coronavirus testing, less than a week before the start of the new season.
"Of the 549 players tested for COVID-19 since Dec. 10, one new player has returned a confirmed positive test," the league and union said in a joint statement.
The unidentified player is in isolation, according to both organizations.
Teams are currently playing preseason games and are scheduled to officially start the season on Dec. 22.
Dec 16, 2020, 6:19 PM EST
Los Angeles County sees record number of deaths in 1 day
Los Angeles County recorded 131 new deaths Wednesday, the highest number since the pandemic began, according to health officials.
The grim milestone comes as the county continues to see huge jumps in new cases and hospitalizations in the last couple of weeks, according to L.A. County Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer.
From Nov. 1 to Dec. 16, the number of Los Angeles residents hospitalized with COVID-29 rose from 791 to 4,456, according to Ferrer. She said it could reach 5,000 by Monday.
People wait outside the emergency room of the Garfield Medical Center in Monterey Park, California, on Dec. 1, 2020.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
"As we continue to see more cases and more hospitalizations, increases in daily deaths will stay on this very tragic and troubling course for some time," Ferrer said during the daily news conference.
The county recorded 21,411 new cases on Wednesday, but Ferrer noted that the new data includes a backlog of approximately 7,000 cases.
From Nov. 1 through Dec. 8, the average number of new daily cases increased by 656%, according to Ferrer.
"In the past week and a half, we have seen cases increase from an average of about 5,900 cases each day in the last week of November to an average of 9,264 the second week in December," she said.
-ABC News' Cammeron Parrish
Dec 16, 2020, 4:39 PM EST
100 million seniors should be vaccinated by March, Slaoui says
Moncef Slaoui, President Donald Trump’s top science adviser in the vaccine effort, expects the vast majority of seniors in the country to be vaccinated by the end of March, he told CNBC's "Health Returns.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis asks Vera Leip, 88, how she feels after nurse Christine Philips, left, administered the Pfizer vaccine at John Knox Village, Dec. 16, 2020, in Pompano Beach, Fla.
Marta Lavandier/AP
About 120 million Americans are over the age of 65. While vaccine doses are just starting to reach nursing homes, Slaoui said he expects pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens to begin offering shots in February to seniors living outside long-term care facilities.
Because two doses are required, Slauoi said he expects it will take until the end of March to immunize about 100 million of the nation’s seniors.
ABC News’ Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.
Dec 16, 2020, 5:32 PM EST
California shatters new daily case record
California reported a record high of 53,711 new cases Wednesday -- a 3.3% increase from Tuesday.
Of Wednesday's new cases, 21,411 were in Los Angeles County alone. However, that total includes about 7,000 backlogged cases.
Masked pedestrians walk past of a COVID 19-themed mural depicting Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa in Beverly Hills, Calif., Dec. 9, 2020.
Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP, FILE
A sign encourages visitors to wear a face cover amid the coronavirus pandemic on the pier in the Manhattan Beach section of Los Angeles, Dec. 14, 2020.
Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
This surpassed the previous daily case record of 35,729, which was reported on Dec. 11.
The Golden State recorded 293 additional deaths on Wednesday, up 1.4% from Tuesday.
