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

The United States reported the highest number of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths from the disease last week out of any country in the world, according to a weekly epidemiological update released Tuesday by the World Health Organization.

More than 1.8 million new cases were reported in the U.S. during the week of Jan. 31 to Feb. 6, a 50% decrease compared to the previous week. Over 14,000 new fatalities were also reported, a 15% decrease, the WHO said.

France had the second-highest number of new cases with more than 1.7 million, a 26% decrease, while India had the second-highest number of new deaths with nearly 8,000, a 69% increase, according to the WHO.

Meanwhile, the global number of new cases during that same period decreased by 17% compared to the previous week, while fatalities increased by 7%, the WHO said.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu outlined her plan to drop the city's proof of vaccine requirement at indoor businesses including bars, movie theaters and restaurants.

The city must have fewer than 200 COVID-19 hospitalizations a day, 95% of ICU beds need to be free and the community positivity rate must be below 5%, before the requirement is removed, she said.

"The fastest way to help ensure we are relieving pressure on hospital capacity and driving down community positivity is to keep closing gaps with vaccination and boosters," Wu said in a statement.

There are no immediate plans to end the city's mask mandate in schools, she added.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

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