COVID updates: Hawaii is only state to not announce plans to lift mask mandates

The daily average of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. has fallen to its lowest point in nearly two months.

Currently, the country is recording an average of 121,000 new infections every day, down sixfold since January.

Over the last seven days, the U.S. has reported 851,000 new COVID-19 cases compared to more than 5.5 million cases reported in one week during last month's peak.

Experts, however, warn Americans not to declare victory just yet; nearly 96% of U.S. counties are still reporting high transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Additionally, hospitalizations are also declining across the nation with just under 69,000 COVID patients receiving care in hospitals, down by nearly 57% from the 160,000 patients reported four weeks ago. 

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

The World Health Organization announced Friday that Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia will be the first six countries to receive COVID-19 mRNA vaccine technology from a transfer hub.

The hub was established in 2021 to help low-and middle-income countries produce COVID vaccines vaccines for their citizens.

Recently, the hub’s research and development partner, South Africa’s Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, produced small batches of COVID mRNA vaccines from publicly available data from Moderna, despite little to no help from the company.

"No other event like the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that reliance on a few companies to supply global public goods is limiting and dangerous," said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the European Union - African Union summit. "In the mid- to long-term, the best way to address health emergencies and reach universal health coverage is to significantly increase the capacity of all regions to manufacture the health products they need, with equitable access as their primary endpoint.”

Hawaii is the only U.S. state that has not announced intentions to end indoor mask mandates.

States across the country have moved to end masking requirements as cases of COVID-19 continue to drop.

Some governors have ended universal indoor and outdoor masking mandates, while others have lifted statewide face covering requirements for schools.

In a newsletter Wednesday, the Hawaii State Department of Education said there are no current plans to drop mask mandates in classrooms.

Three other states -- California, Maryland and New York -- as well as Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, have also not announced end dates for their indoor school face covering mandates.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Thursday that the state's mask mandate for indoor areas is over, effective immediately.

Masks will still be required for some settings, "including hospitals, long-term care facilities and detention facilities." School districts were allowed to determine if their mandates for classrooms would remain in effect, according to the governor's office.

"Given the continued drop in hospitalizations and the lessening of the burden on our hospitals, it’s time to end the mask mandate. With vaccines, boosters and effective treatment options widely available, we have the tools we need to protect ourselves and keep our fellow New Mexicans safe," Grisham said in a statement.

As of Thursday, 73.5% of eligible New Mexico residents were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.