COVID-19 updates: US cases down nearly 25%

Nearly 20,000 Americans with COVID-19 are being admitted to hospitals each day -- an 8% drop over the last week, according to federal data.

But 13 states saw COVID-19-related hospital admission rates jump by at least 10%: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Emergency department visits for diagnosed COVID-19 cases declined nearly 24% over the last two weeks, according to federal data.

While the U.S. case rate is steadily falling -- down by 15% in the last week to an average of 664,000 new cases -- case rates still remain higher than any other point of the pandemic, according to federal data.

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

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Elton John has tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him to postpone his concerts on Jan. 25 and Jan. 26 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, according to a statement from the venue.

"Elton is fully vaccinated and boosted, and is experiencing only mild symptoms," the statement said. "Fans should hold on to their tickets as they will be honored at the rescheduled dates to be announced soon."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has vowed to "fight back" against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's "reckless" decision to limit the use of two monoclonal antibody treatments for COVID-19 that were found to be ineffective against the now-dominant omicron variant.

"This is wrong what they are doing, and we have many people now who are very concerned because they were going to go in and get it today or tomorrow," DeSantis said during a press conference Tuesday.

While the governor acknowledged that the treatments are less effective against omicron, he claimed that people in Florida have seen their COVID-19 symptoms clear up in the last month after receiving the treatments. DeSantis, however, did not offer data to support that claim.

"We're going to fight back against this," he told reporters.

When asked whether he plans to take legal action against the federal government, DeSantis said: "I don't know. We're going to see what we can do."

With omicron accounting for more than 99% of COVID-19 infections nationwide, the FDA on Monday revised its authorizations for two of the main monoclonal antibody treatments that have been widely used across the country -- one made by Eli Lilly and the other by Regeneron. The FDA said both treatments are no longer authorized for use in any U.S. state, territory or jurisdiction and should not be used for treatment against COVID-19. In the future, the treatments could still be used to help patients who become sick with other variants, according to the FDA.

Following the FDA's decision, Florida health officials announced that monoclonal antibody treatment sites would be shut down across the state. More than 2,000 appointments for the treatments were canceled statewide on Tuesday alone, according to the governor's office.

"Unfortunately, as a result of this abrupt decision made by the federal government, all monoclonal antibody state sites will be closed until further notice," the Florida Department of Health said in a statement late Monday. "Florida disagrees with the decision that blocks access to any available treatments in absence of clinical evidence. To date, such clinical evidence has not been provided by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)."

-ABC News' Will McDuffie and Sasha Pezenik

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's son has tested positive for COVID-19 as cases in the state skyrocket.

"My son is generally asymptomatic, we believe because he is vaccinated and boosted," Beshear said Monday.

The governor and the rest of his family tested negative on Monday, according to Beshear's office.

Kentucky reported 81,473 cases for the week ending on Sunday -- a record high.

Hospitalizations are also approaching a record high, his office said.