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

There were 168,058 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in the United States on Tuesday, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

The latest daily case count is far less than the country's all-time high of 298,031 newly confirmed infections on Jan. 2, Johns Hopkins data shows.

An additional 2,550 fatalities from COVID-19 were registered nationwide on Tuesday, down from a peak of 4,462 new deaths on Jan. 12, according to Johns Hopkins data.

COVID-19 data may be skewed due to possible lags in reporting over the holiday weekend and earlier holidays.

A total of 24,253,368 people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and at least 401,730 have died, according to Johns Hopkins data. The cases include people from all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and other U.S. territories as well as repatriated citizens.

Much of the country was under lockdown by the end of March as the first wave of pandemic hit. By May 20, all U.S. states had begun lifting stay-at-home orders and other restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The day-to-day increase in the country's cases then hovered around 20,000 for a couple of weeks before shooting back up over the summer.

The numbers lingered around 40,000 to 50,000 from mid-August through early October before surging again to record levels, crossing 100,000 for the first time on Nov. 4, then reaching 200,000 on Nov. 27 before nearing 300,000 on Jan. 2.

In a continued encouraging sign, the number of people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in the United States decreased on 13 days in January, according to The COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer-run effort to track the U.S. outbreak. 

That metric, which is "more resilient" than others to holiday reporting disruptions, increased six times this month, most recently on Jan. 12, The COVID Tracking Project said. 

There are 123,820 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 nationwide. 

The U.S. also recorded 144,047 new cases of COVID-19 and 2,141 additional deaths from the disease on Tuesday, though national data was incomplete due to the holiday weekend, according to The COVID Tracking Project.

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.

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

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.

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.