COVID-19 updates: US daily death average falls below 2,000 for 1st time in month

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Monday the end of all remaining COVID-19 restrictions in England.

This includes the requirement that people who test positive for COVID-19 self-isolate, and officials will no longer perform contact tracing.

People who do contract the virus will still be advised to stay home, but they will not receive any financial support from the government for missing work, a measure that was introduced during the pandemic.

Additionally, free lab PCR tests will only be available to the elderly and the immunocompromised while free rapid tests will no longer be distributed by the government.

“We now have sufficient levels of immunity to complete the transition from protecting people with government interventions to relying on vaccines and treatments as our first line of defense,” Johnson said in a speech to the House of Commons.

Johnson acknowledged that the virus "has not gone away," noting that Queen Elizabeth II tested positive for COVID-19 Sunday, but added the country needs to "learn to live with this virus and continue protecting ourselves and others without restricting our freedoms."

The daily average of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. fell below 2,000 for the first time in nearly a month over the weekend.

In the last week, the average has declined by about 15.3% to approximately 1,920 virus-related deaths every day. 

Although the average remains high, experts say deaths are a lagging indicator and the country may finally see sharp drops after several weeks of increases.

Additionally, the daily average of COVID-19 cases has fallen to 103,000 per day, reaching its lowest average since early December.

Since the country's peak in early January, the average of new infections in the U.S. has dropped by 87%.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Justin Bieber has tested positive for COVID-19, his manager, Scooter Braun, confirmed Sunday.

It comes just two days after the 27-year-old singer kicked off his world tour "Justice" in San Diego Friday that had been rescheduled from 2021.

"Rest up Justin. Excited to see you back doing what you love," Braun wrote on Instagram.

Bieber was forced to cancel a show in Las Vegas Sunday, which has been rescheduled for June 28, 2022, as well as a Tuesday show in Glendale, Arizona, for June 30.

"Justin is of course hugely disappointed, but the health and safety of his crew and fans is always his number one priority," a statement read.

"The tour launch in San Diego was a massive success, and Justin is excited to bring this spectacular show to his ... fans as soon as possible," the statement continued.

The COVID-19 infection rate at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics was 0.01%, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said Monday.

Since Jan. 23, more than 1.8 million COVID tests were performed, and 437 people tested positive, according to a press release.

Of those positive tests, 98 were among athletes, 87 were among team officials and the remaining 252 were among "stakeholders."

Bach said in a statement that the closed-loop system used by the Games "has been one of the safest places on this planet, if not the safest."

“The message to the world is that, if everybody is respecting the rules in solidarity, you can even have such a great event like the Olympic Games under the terms of a pandemic," the statement continued.