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

Daily cases have dropped by 71% over the last three weeks.

Last Updated: February 14, 2022, 12:04 AM EST

As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.8 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 919,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 64.4% 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.
Feb 09, 2022, 2:01 PM EST

Rhode Island lifting indoor mask mandate

Rhode Island will lift the statewide indoor mask policy on Friday, Gov. Dan McKee announced.

Rhode Island's school mask mandate will be extended until March. 4. At that time, school masking policies will be decided by individual school districts.

This comes hours after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said New York's indoor mask mandate will end on Thursday.

Feb 09, 2022, 1:01 PM EST

US hospitalizations at lowest point since early January

The U.S. case rate has dropped by nearly 70% since the peak and now stands at an average of 247,000 new cases each day, according to federal data.

People still wear their masks, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in Los Angeles, Feb. 8, 2022.
David Swanson/Reuters

Alaska currently leads the nation in new cases per capita, followed by Mississippi and West Virginia.

For the first time since early January, fewer than 100,000 COVID-19-positive patients are in U.S. hospitals -- a big drop from the country's peak of 160,000 patients nearly three weeks ago.

Although U.S. cases and hospitalizations are falling, deaths -- a lagging indicator -- are close to the highest point in nearly one year.

The U.S. daily death toll is hovering around 2,400. Since the beginning of 2022 nearly 77,000 Americans have died of COVID-19, according to federal data.

Mississippi currently holds the country's highest seven-day death rate followed by Virginia and Ohio.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Feb 09, 2022, 12:31 PM EST

Denver to end mask requirement in schools

Denver will no longer require masks in schools beginning Feb. 26, city officials said, citing "rapidly decreasing" cases and a high vaccination rate.

In this Dec. 14, 2021, file photo, students work on projects in art class at Bruce Randolph School in Denver.
Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post/MediaNews Group via Getty Images, FILE

"It is safe to lift the school mask mandate at this time,” Denver’s chief medical officer, Dr. Sterling McLaren, said in a statement. “The best way to protect children is to make sure they stay up to date with their vaccinations and ensure that the adults around them are vaccinated as well.”

Denver is not alone in ending school mask requirements. School mask mandates in Connecticut and Massachusetts will expire on Feb. 28, followed by New Jersey on March 7, and Oregon and Delaware on March 31.

Feb 09, 2022, 12:04 PM EST

New York lifts indoor mask mandate effective Thursday

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is lifting the statewide requirement to wear a mask indoors or provide businesses with proof of full vaccination.

The indoor mask mandate is set to expire Thursday and will not be renewed, Hochul said.

Hochul said omicron cases peaked Jan. 7 and have dropped 93% since.

The governor said indoor mask requirements would now be left to cities, towns and businesses across the state.

A sign reminds customers that masks are required in their store in New York, Dec. 13, 2021.
Seth Wenig/AP, FILE

Hochul declined to lift the state’s school mask requirement, citing the vaccination rate among kids 5 to 11.

“We have a little more work to do with the younger kids,” Hochul said. “I think we can do better.”

New York City will maintain its citywide mandates that require proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, theaters and arenas, a spokesperson for the mayor said. Masks continue to be required on mass transit and in schools.

-ABC News' Aaron Katersky

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