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.
Here's how the news developed this week. All times Eastern.
Jan 20, 2021, 6:40 AM EST
Over 15.7 million vaccine doses administered in US so far
More than 15.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the United States to date, according to data published on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website.
Over 13.5 million people have received one or more doses of the vaccine, while more than 2 million have received two doses, according to the CDC data, which was updated Tuesday.
Jan 20, 2021, 5:35 AM EST
US reports over 168,000 new cases
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.
Pedestrians wearing face masks walk past a banner urging people to "prevent the spread of COVID-19" in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 19, 2020.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
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.
Jan 19, 2021, 7:57 PM EST
COVID-19 hospitalizations decreased in US on 13 days in January
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.
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.