COVID-19 updates: US cases down nearly 25%

Most states are seeing cases decreasing or at a plateau.

ByMorgan Winsor and Emily Shapiro
Last Updated: January 31, 2022, 12:24 AM EST

As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.6 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 883,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 63.7% 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 25, 2022, 5:33 PM EST

New York school mask mandate allowed to remain in effect for now

"These measures are critical tools to prevent the spread of COVID-19, make schools and businesses safe, and save lives," New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement Tuesday after the judge granted the state's motion to keep the mandate in place. "We will not stop fighting to protect New Yorkers, and we are confident we will continue to prevail."

A court hearing in the case is scheduled for Friday morning.

At least 20 districts across Long Island had immediately ditched their mask mandates after a judge in Nassau County said Monday that state education officials overstepped their authority when they reinstituted the mask mandate amid a winter surge in coronavirus cases.

The state education department has instructed school districts to keep the mandate in place, requiring all staff and students in pre-K through 12th grade to wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status.

-ABC News' Aaron Katersky

Jan 25, 2022, 4:55 PM EST

Omicron estimated to account for 99.9% of new US cases

The omicron variant is estimated to account for 99.9% of all new cases in the U.S. as of Jan. 22, according to the CDC.

In early December, omicron was estimated to make up just 0.6% of new cases.

Delta now accounts for 0.1% of new cases nationally, forecasters estimate.

These estimates are the results of CDC modeling using recently available data.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Jan 25, 2022, 4:40 PM EST

Weekly reported cases set new record at more than 21 million

Over 21 million new weekly cases were reported across the globe -- the most recorded since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the World Health Organization.

The U.S. (4,215, 852 new cases -- a 24% decrease from the previous week) reported the most, followed by France (2,443,821 new cases -- a 21% increase).

The U.S. also recorded 10,795 deaths -- the most of any nation.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou

Jan 25, 2022, 4:25 PM EST

US hospital admissions drop 8% even as 13 states see surges

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.

PHOTO: Two nurses talk in a hallway in the acute care unit, where about half the patients are COVID-19 positive or in quarantine after exposure, of Harborview Medical Center, Jan. 14, 2022, in Seattle.
Hospital assistant Tracy Chambers, right, talks with another staff member in a hallway in the acute care unit, where about half the patients are COVID-19 positive or in quarantine after exposure, of Harborview Medical Center, Jan. 14, 2022, in Seattle.
Elaine Thompson/AP, FILE

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

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