Updated Thursday at 11:20 a.m. ET

More than 100,000 Americans are in the hospital with COVID-19, at the same time the nation recorded its worst daily death toll since the start of the pandemic.

Data from the COVID Tracking Project show 100,226 people were hospitalized on Wednesday with the disease caused by the coronavirus — a figure that has been steadily rising for weeks.

Johns Hopkins University, which tracks coronavirus case data, reported that 2,804 new deaths were recorded on Wednesday. It initially reported 3,157 new deaths on that day, but revised the number down due to a "tech glitch," a JHU representative tells NPR.

The death toll surpasses the previous peak of 2,607 deaths on April 15.

The number of hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients far outpaces peaks in mid-April and July of about 59,000. Early last month, the number of hospitalizations again reached that mark and has been on an upward progression ever since.

More than 273,000 people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19 since the first cases were detected in January.

News of the record-breaking statistic comes the same day the U.K. announced a major step in its race to develop COVID-19 vaccines, formally approving Pfizer and the German company BioNTech's vaccine for emergency use.

Even with a vaccine in sight, the U.S. continues to grapple with a major surge in new coronavirus infections. Health officials are imploring Americans to stay home for the holidays.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert R. Redfield warned Wednesday that things are likely to get worse over the winter months. He predicted deaths could reach "close to 450,000" by February if Americans fail to take more health precautions, such as wearing a mask.