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, 6:06 PM EST

All Super Bowl attendees to get KN95 mask

Every attendee of next month's Super Bowl in Los Angeles will receive a KN95 mask, health officials said Tuesday.

Additionally, "safety team members" will remind fans to keep their masks on unless they are eating or drinking, Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said during a county Board of Supervisors meeting.

Attendees at the Super Bowl Experience will also receive a free at-home rapid test kit, Ferrer said, with messaging to test before the big game on Feb. 13 at SoFi Stadium. 

The county expects to distribute over 60,000 take-home kits during the Super Bowl Experience, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center from Feb. 5 to Feb. 12.

-ABC News' Jennifer Watts

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

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