Coronavirus updates: Herd immunity by fall 'ambitious,' says surgeon general nominee

In 44 states, the seven-day average of new cases dropped over 10%.

Last Updated: January 25, 2021, 4:55 AM EST

A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now infected more than 98.7 million people worldwide and killed over 2.1 million of them, according to real-time data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

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Here's how the news developed this week. All times Eastern.
Jan 19, 2021, 7:13 PM EST

Lights illuminate Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to honor American lives lost to COVID-19

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris honored the 400,000 Americans who have died from COVID-19 with a tribute in front of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday evening.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris with husband Douglas Emhoff and President-elect Joe Biden with wife Dr. Jill Biden watch as a Covid-19 Memorial is lighted at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, Jan. 19, 2021.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

The 400 lights along the pool were lit to symbolize the lives lost to the virus.

Lights surround the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, placed as a memorial to COVID-19 victims in Washington, Jan. 19, 2021.
Alex Brandon/AP

At the ceremony, part of the incoming administration's inaugural festivities, Harris called on Americans to "grieve and begin healing together."

"Though we may be physically separated, we, the American people, are united in spirit," she said.

Jan 19, 2021, 4:17 PM EST

Emirates, Etihad Airlines to test IATA COVID-19 travel pass

Emirates Airlines and Etihad Airways said they have partnered with the International Air Transport Association to trial IATA Travel Pass -- a mobile app that serves as a “digital passport” to verify pre-travel COVID-19 testing or vaccination status.

The app also helps passengers find information on travel and entry requirements at their destinations.

Emirates Airlines said it plans to roll out the first phase in April, during which passengers leaving Dubai can share their COVID-19 test status directly with the airline through the app before arriving at the airport. Etihad will first offer the travel pass on some flights out of Abu Dhabi in the first quarter of 2021.

ABC News’ Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.

Jan 19, 2021, 3:02 PM EST

COVID-19 fatality rate increases in UK

The United Kingdom reported a record 1,610 new fatalities from COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the country's weekly death toll to 8,267 -- a 19.8% increase over the previous week.

Paramedics wearing PPE wheel a patient from an ambulance outside the emergency department of the Royal London Hospital in London, Jan. 19, 2021.
NurPhoto via Getty Images

The U.K. -- an island nation of 66 million people made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland -- has the fifth-highest number of confirmed deaths from COVID-19 worldwide, behind the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico, according to a count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

Despite the record death toll, the daily number of new cases is on the decline in the U.K. amid national lockdowns. The U.K. reported 33,355 new cases on Tuesday, bringing the weekly total to 302,802 -- a 22.3% decrease from the last week.

ABC News’ Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.

Jan 19, 2021, 2:38 PM EST

U.S. death toll from COVID-19 surpasses 400,000

The U.S. death toll surpassed 400,000 on Tuesday and now stands at 400,022 fatalities.

400,000 Americans Lost to Covid-19
400,000 Americans lost to Covid-19
ABC News, The Covid Tracking Project

The number of American lives lost to the coronavirus is more people than the number of U.S. soldiers who died in battle during World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War combined, according to a data estimate compiled by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The U.S. death toll is roughly equivalent to the population of Tampa, Florida, or Tulsa, Oklahoma.

PHOTO: An employee moves bodies of deceased patients to a refrigerated semi-truck at the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner on Jan. 14, 2021 in Tucson, Ariz. Refrigerated trucks were used for body storage amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
An employee moves bodies of deceased patients to a refrigerated semi-truck at the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner on Jan. 14, 2021 in Tucson, Ariz. After reaching capacity amid the COVID-19 pandemic, two refrigerated semi-trucks arrived at the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner to provide extra storage.
Courtney Pedroza/Getty Images

PHOTO: An employee prepares to move bodies of deceased patients to a refrigerated semi-truck at the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner on Jan. 14, 2021 in Tucson, Ariz. Refrigerated trucks were used for body storage amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
An employee prepares to move bodies of deceased patients to a refrigerated semi-truck at the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner on Jan. 14, 2021 in Tucson, Ariz. After reaching capacity amid the COVID-19 pandemic, two refrigerated semi-trucks arrived at the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner to provide extra storage.
Courtney Pedroza/Getty Images

By the middle of February, "we expect half a million deaths" in the U.S. from COVID-19, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who’s nominated to serve as the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told CBS’ "Face the Nation" on Sunday.

ABC News’ Arielle Mitropolous contributed to this report.

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