The U.S. reported more than 4,000 new coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

Why it matters: It is the first time the U.S. topped 4,000 new deaths in a single day, a record that comes as hospitals nationwide continue to be overwhelmed by an influx of COVID-19 patients.

The big picture: The seven-day average for deaths is more than 2,750, also a record, per the COVID Tracking Project.

• Over 365,170 people have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. since the pandemic began.
• More than 132,300 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Thursday evening.

What they're saying: Earlier on Thursday, NIAID director Anthony Fauci warned that "things will get worse as we get into January."

• Speaking to NPR's Morning Edition, Fauci attributed his warning to the holiday season and "the congregate settings that usually take place socially during that period of time."
• "Hopefully, if we really accelerate our public health measures during that period of time, we'll be able to blunt that acceleration. But that's going to really require people concentrating very, very intensively on doing the kinds of public health measures that we talk about all the time. Now's not the time to pull back on this," he added.

Go deeper: Fauci says vaccine rollout’s "bumps and hiccups” won’t last long