People over 75, front-line essential workers should get vaccine next, CDC panel says

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee gave a passionate plea to his constituents to avoid holiday gatherings as the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise.

The state has around 10,000 Tennesseans getting sick every day, which was three times the numbers at the end of October, the governor said during a news conference Sunday. More than 100 people are dying from the virus daily, Lee said.

"Tennessee is ground zero for a surge in sickness," he said.

Lee warned that the next few weeks will be crucial and urged families to stick to their households during Christmas and New Year's.

“We’ve seen firsthand that Thanksgiving gatherings and extended time indoors have been the leading driver in spreading COVID-19 like wildfire," he said.

Lee signed an order that limited indoor gatherings to 10 people maximum and limited attendance at indoor sporting events.

The governor urged residents to wear masks to stop the spread, however, he did not issue a state wide mask mandate.

-ABC News' Matt Foster contributed to this report.

Hours before the government was set to shutdown, congressional leaders announced they came to an agreement over a $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill.

A final vote on the spending bill and COVID-19 relief bill will be on Monday in the House, before it heads to the Senate.

Lawmakers agreed to a $300 boost in weekly unemployment benefits, $600 relief checks for individuals, more than $300 billion for small business aid and huge pots of money for schools, hospitals and vaccine distribution.

-ABC News' Mariam Khan and Allison Pecorin contributed to this report.

Four more countries announced they will suspend flights from the United Kingdom after a new strain of the coronavirus was discovered in the country.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Interior announced it would suspend all international flights, except in "exceptional cases" for at least one week.

Turkish Health Minister Dr. Fahrettin Koca tweeted his country would temporarily ban all fights from U.K., Denmark, Netherlands and South Africa.

In Switzerland, the Swiss Civil Aviation Authority announced flights from the U.K. and South Africa would be suspended starting at midnight "until further notice."

Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš tweeted that flights to and from the U.K. would be suspended from midnight to at least Jan. 1

-ABC News' Dragana Jovanovic and Aicha El Hammar Castano contributed to this report

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's advisory committee voted 13-1 on who would receive the vaccine in groups "1b and 1c" and who would be "essential."

Phase 1b includes people over 75 and front-line essential workers, while phase 1c includes younger patients with high-risk medical conditions and other essential workers.

Those two groups would cover K-12 teachers, school staff, child care workers and critical workers in high-risk settings.

It would also include people in homeless shelters, prisons, jails, detention centers and mental development centers and staff who work in these places, according to the CDC.

The committee also defined front-line essential workers as first responders, educators, food and agriculture workers, manufacturing workers, corrections workers, U.S. postal workers, public transit workers and grocery store workers.

The front-line essential workers represent about 30 million Americans, according to the CDC.

The CDC is expected to sign off on these recommendations to make the next phase of vaccines available to Americans over 75 and front-line workers, but it will ultimately be up to states to define which front-line workers qualify.

-ABC News' Adisa Hargett-Robinson and Stephanie Ebbs contributed to this report