COVID updates: New Zealand imposes restrictions amid omicron outbreak

The country's PM also postponed her wedding due to the rise in cases.

ByMorgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, and Meredith Deliso
Last Updated: January 18, 2022, 3:23 PM EST

As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.5 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 865,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 63.3% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Jan 18, 2022, 3:23 PM EST

Kansas to end contact tracing

Kansas will end its contact tracing program at the end January due to an overwhelming number of COVID-19 cases and a "diminished" willingness of people to take part, the state health department announced Tuesday.

"As we enter the third year of this pandemic, public health has to begin to adjust the level of response to help alleviate the strain on the Public Health system," Janet Stanek, acting secretary of the state's Department of Health and Environment, said in a statement. "The pandemic is far from over, but this step is a move toward managing COVID-19 as an endemic disease. The responsibility of protecting yourself and others belongs to all of us." 

-ABC News' Will McDuffie

Jan 18, 2022, 2:50 PM EST

Stephen A. Smith opens up about illness: 'I didn't know if I was gonna make it'

ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith is opening up about his intense COVID-19 battle.

After Smith tested positive in December, he said he had a 103 degree fever every night.

"Woke up with chills and a pool of sweat. Headaches were massive. Coughing profusely," Smith said, according to The New York Post.

Smith said he was admitted to the hospital over New Year's with pneumonia in both lungs.

“They told me, had I not been vaccinated, I wouldn’t be here. That’s how bad it was," he said.

Smith is now back to work, but he said, "two-and-a-half, three weeks ago, I didn’t know if I was gonna make it.”

-ABC News' Will Gretsky

Disney is the parent company of ABC News and ESPN.

Jan 18, 2022, 2:05 PM EST

New York cases down 75% from early January

New York state, hit hard by the omicron surge over the holidays, is seeing COVID-19 cases down 75% from early January, state officials said.

New York reported 22,312 new cases Tuesday, according to state data. On Jan. 7, New York state recorded 90,132 daily cases.

People wait in line at COVID-19 testing site in Times Square, Dec. 3, 2021, in New York.
Yuki Iwamura/AP, FILE

The seven-day average of new cases is down 38.9% from the previous week and the seven-day average of hospital admissions dropped 13.6% from the previous week, according to state data.

"We hope to close the books on this winter surge soon," Gov. Kathy Hochul said Tuesday.

-ABC News' Will Gretsky

Jan 18, 2022, 12:30 PM EST

Biden administration website to order free tests goes live

The Biden administration's website to order four free at-home rapid tests per household is now live at covidtests.gov.

Youngstown City Health Department worker Faith Terreri grabs two at-home COVID-19 test kits to be handed out during a distribution event, Dec. 30, 2021, in Youngstown, Ohio.
David Dermer/AP, FILE

The tests won't ship for another seven to 12 days.

-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett

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