The Johns Hopkins COVID Dashboard for Wednesday, December 16, at 5:28 a.m.:

Worldwide cases:   73,669,910         Worldwide deaths: 1,639,422

U.S. cases: 16,737,063   U.S. deaths: 304,094

According to the Dashboard, the reported worldwide case report increased by 646,402  in the last 24 hours.  Deaths worldwide increased by 14,043.

According to the Johns Hopkins Dashboard, the United States has added 204,186 cases in the last 24 hours.

In the last day, the number of people who have died in the U.S. from  COVID-19 increased by 3,208.

The COVID Tracking Project reports that 112,816  people were hospitalized nationwide with COVID-19 as of yesterday.  Hospitalization rates on the mainland have been increasing at an alarming rate, with some hospitals getting close to being overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.    Health officials say that as hospitalization rates go up, deaths will continue to also increase.  In general, only people who have severe cases of COVID-19 are hospitalized.