New cases and hospitalizations continue to rise across the country. The U.S. saw a record high 229,000 new cases on 04 December. Over the past week, there has been an average of 207,064 cases per day, an increase of 18 percent from the average two weeks earlier. Hospitalizations are up 22 percent across the country compared to the same period two weeks ago. At least 104,000 Americans are hospitalized with COVID-19.