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 24, 2022, 12:09 AM 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.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Jan 20, 2022, 4:54 PM EST

Wastewater data finds omicron may have been in US as early as Nov. 21

A new CDC study finds that the omicron variant was likely in the U.S. more than a week before the first case was detected. 

The first official case was detected on Dec. 1 in California. But a review of the national wastewater surveillance system indicates that the variant could have been present as early as Nov. 21, according to samples collected in New York City. 

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos, Sony Salzman

Jan 20, 2022, 4:37 PM EST

Hospitalizations at record high, cases dropping in some areas

More than 160,000 COVID-19-positive Americans are currently in hospitals -- a pandemic high and double the number from about three weeks ago, according to federal data.

It's still not clear how many were admitted with COVID-19 and how many tested positive for the virus after they were admitted for other reasons.

The U.S. is reporting an average of 760,000 new cases per day, according to federal data.

Although case levels remain high, there's growing evidence to suggest the omicron surge is receding in the parts of the country first struck by the variant.

Ana Arenazas administers a COVD-19 test to an unidentified woman in Randolph, N.J., Jan. 11, 2022.
NorthJersey.com via USA Today Network

In New York, daily cases have dropped by 33% in the last week, while in New Jersey new cases are down by 43.7%.

Wisconsin now leads the nation in new cases per capita, followed by Rhode Island, Utah and South Carolina.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Jan 20, 2022, 3:12 PM EST

San Francisco appears to pass peak of omicron surge: Officials

In San Francisco, COVID-19 cases are "dropping rapidly" following record highs that appeared to peak on Jan. 9, officials announced.

Residents wait in line for a Covid-19 test at testing site in San Francisco, Calif., Jan. 10, 2022.
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

While "cases are still extremely high," they "have plateaued and are starting to go down," said Dr. Grant Colfax, director of the Department of Public Health.

"We're looking at data from other places … the consistent data seem to show that cases go up very fast, they started to come down very fast. So we're on that downward trend now," Colfax said.

Jan 20, 2022, 2:28 PM EST

Austria becomes 1st European country to mandate vaccines for all

Austria's parliament voted Thursday to mandate vaccinations for all adults, making Austria the first country in Europe to mandate the vaccine for all eligible residents.

Signs indicating the requirement of masks and social distancing at a restaurant at the Obertauern ski resort in Obertauern, Austria, Jan. 14, 2022.
Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE

According to the Austrian Health Ministry, 72% of the country's population is fully vaccinated.

The COVID-19 Vaccination Act will go into effect on Feb. 1. Beginning March 15, reminder letters will be sent to those who remain unvaccinated. Noncompliance can result in a fine.

Exempt from the new law are: minors, pregnant women, those who had COVID-19 within 180 days and people with medical exemptions.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou

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