considers scaling down the times square new year's eve celebration. a visible return of sports restrictions. hockey in montreal played to empty stands. the nhl shut down two teams because of covid spread and the nfl postponed three games this weekend. overall, deaths are increasing half of u.s. states up sharply in seven. that's an increase of 8% from just last week. >> i think we're really just about to experience a viral blizzard. if you look at south africa, look at what is happening in europe, in the next three to eight weeks you'll see millions of americans infected with this virus. >> you're looking at a winter of severe illness and death for the unvaccinated. >> reporter: with previous surges the unvaccinated are filling hospitals as doctors warn they are exhausted and losing staff. >> the reality is you can't just create humans to provide that care and staffing is a challenge