Monday was a crucial day for the battle against the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed over 319,000 lives in the United States and over 1.7 million worldwide.

Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine arrived and was administered for the first time, the second such vaccine authorized for use in the U.S.

Congress passed a much-needed $900 billion relief bill for millions of Americans struggling; while not as much as they had hoped for, Democrats, including President-elect Joe Biden, pledged to fight for more aid in 2021.

And President-elect Biden was vaccinated on live TV to inspire confidence in the vaccine.

Yet, the day did not come without a grim milestone: Over 18 million active COVID-19 cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

What You Need To Know

  • On Monday, the US surpassed a new milestone of 18 million COVID-19 cases

  • The deadly virus has claimed 319,000 lives in the US and over 1.7 million nationwide

  • COVID-19 cases are surging across the country; in places like Southern California, hospitals are swamped

  • On Thursday, Texas smashed a single-day record for new coronavirus cases with more than 16,000

Across the country, there are signs that the pandemic is getting worse.

In Southern California, hospitals are swamped as cases surge. Los Angeles County hospital space continued dwindling Monday as the surge of COVID-19 cases pressured emergency rooms and intensive care units, leaving health officials to decry residents who flocked to shopping centers over the weekend and ate on restaurant patios in defiance of infection-control regulations.

"If you're still out there shopping for your loved ones for this holiday season or you're planning a holiday get-together, then you are missing the gravity of the situation that is affecting hospitals across Los Angeles County and California and this nation," county Health Services Director Dr. Christina Ghaly said. "People are very sick in the hospitals. They are dying there.

"And our hospitals may not have the equipment or the capacity or the resources to take care of you in the way that you need or expect," she said. "Though they may seem benign, these actions are extremely high risk, and we ask that everyone do everything they can to avoid spreading the virus to avoid prolonging the surge and avoid increasing the number of deaths that families across our county will experience in the days and weeks to come."

According to the county Department of Health Services, as of Monday a total of 776 hospital beds were staffed and available in the county, including just 30 adult ICU beds. The county reported another record-setting level of people hospitalized due to COVID-19 on Monday, with the number reaching 5,709, with 21% of those people, or nearly 1,200, in intensive care.

The county has an overall licensed ICU capacity of about 2,500 beds. According to the county DHS, the 70 "911-receiving" hospitals that have emergency departments surged their capacity to operate a daily average of 2,660 ICU beds last week. On average, those beds were occupied by 996 confirmed or suspected COVID cases on a daily basis, or about 37% of the 2,660 staffed beds. The hospitals last week averaged 55 open and staffed ICU beds on a daily basis last week.

On Thursday, Texas smashed a single-day record for new coronavirus cases with more than 16,000. Hospitalizations are at the highest levels since July and rising.

In New York, outrage as video surfaced of members of the Whitestone Republican Club blantantly ignoring COVID-19 restrictions at an indoor holiday gathering earlier this month, as cases rise once more in the country's largest city.

Overseas, a new mutated strain of COVID-19 has raised alarm, despite health officials urging concern over panic.

“There’s zero evidence that there’s any increase in severity” of COVID-19 from the latest strain, the World Health Organization’s emergencies chief, Dr. Michael Ryan said Monday.

“We don’t want to overreact,” the U.S. government’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told CNN. (It was also announced Monday that Fauci will receive a COVID-19 vaccination Tuesday.)

Yet, there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel. With two vaccine candidates receiving authorization in the US, more and more Americans will start to receive innoculations from COVID-19. Others are still in development.

However, even with vaccination, people will still need to take precautions, like wearing a mask and social distancing, health officials say. That’s because there’s still some unknowns, including how much it reduces spread or how long protection lasts.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.