COVID-19 updates: US cases at lowest point since Christmas

While California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that he will end the statewide mask mandate next week, Los Angeles County health officials said Tuesday they have no immediate plans to drop their mask mandate.

LA County Department of Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer told reporters the county's decision will be made based on dropping hospitalization numbers or vaccination approval for young children.

The mandate will be dropped when daily hospitalizations drop below 2,500 for seven consecutive days, according to Ferrer. Once this threshold is met, "masking will no longer be required while outdoors at outdoor mega events or an indoor outdoor spaces at childcare and K to 12 schools," Ferrer said.

Even if that threshold is not met, the mandate could be dropped eight weeks after vaccines are approved for children under 5. Pfizer submitted a request to the Food and Drug Administration to have its vaccine approved for children 6 months to 5 years old. A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 15.

Los Angeles County is the second-largest school district in the country, with over 600,000 students.

The U.S. case rate is dropping, down by 63.4% since the peak three weeks ago, according to federal data. 

For the first time since December, U.S. daily cases are below 300,000. 

However, experts continue to caution that the U.S. isn't out of the woods. Case levels remain much higher than the nation's previous surges and the U.S. is still reporting millions of new cases every week. Experts also point out that many Americans taking at-home tests are not submitting their results, and thus, case totals may be higher than reported. 

On average, about 13,000 Americans with COVID-19 are being admitted to the hospital each day -- a 26.4% drop in the last week, according to federal data.  

Emergency department visits with diagnosed COVID-19 cases are also on the decline, down by nearly 60% in the last month, federal data show.

The U.S. death average is at a plateau, with the nation reporting around 2,300 new COVID-19-related deaths each day, according to federal data. That average is significantly lower than last winter when the nation peaked around 3,400 deaths per day. 

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

The presence of the omicron sub-variant, BA.2, is increasing in the U.S., according to new data published by the CDC.

BA.2 was estimated to accounted for 3.6% of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. as of Feb. 5. BA.2 was projected to account for 1.2% of new cases the week prior.

The original omicron strain, B.1.1.529, still makes up the vast majority of new cases, accounting for an estimated 96.4% of cases in the U.S.

There is still much unknown about the BA.2 variant, but currently it doesn't appear to demonstrate a more severe illness. There's also no indication to suggest that BA.2 will further impact the efficacy of vaccines.

The delta variant, which accounted for 99.2% of all new cases just two months ago, is now estimated to account for 0% of new cases.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos, Eric M. Strauss

An ongoing, trucker-led protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other pandemic-related restrictions in Canada spilled over into the United States via the Ambassador Bridge on Monday night, blocking access to one of the world's largest international suspension bridges.

The protesters hindered traffic at the tolled bridge across the Detroit River, which connects Windsor, Canada, with Detroit, Michigan, at the Canadian-U.S. border. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) announced via Twitter on Monday night that it had closed the crossing to Canada.

The Windsor Police Service tweeted Tuesday morning that the bridge has reopened to U.S.-bound traffic. Meanwhile, MDOT tweeted an update saying the crossing remains closed on the U.S. side.

Monday marked the 11th straight day of the so-called "Freedom Convoy" protests, which began with truckers critical of a new rule that they must be vaccinated against COVID-19 to cross the Canada-U.S. border. The demonstrations have since grown into broader challenges to pandemic-related public health measures and opposition to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Thousands of protesters have occupied the streets of Ottawa and other cities across Canada in support of the movement, paralyzing the capital's city center with traffic jams, nonstop noise and alleged harassment. Protesters have said they won't leave until all COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions are lifted nationwide. They are also calling for the removal of Trudeau's government, even though most of the public health measures were put in place by provincial governments.

The House of Commons of Canada held an emergency session on Tuesday to discuss the demonstrations. In an opening statement, the prime minister said he understands "people are tired" of COVID-19 but that protests are not the answer.

"These pandemic restrictions are not forever," Trudeau told lawmakers.

While Trudeau's opponents argued that the country is at a crisis point, the prime minister rejected any notion that Canadians are divided.

"Canada has one of the highest vaccination rates of our peer countries around the world," he said. "It's because Canadians trust science. Canadians trust each other to do the right thing."