COVID-19 updates: New Zealand imposes restrictions amid omicron outbreak
The country's PM also postponed her wedding due to the rise in cases.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.5 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 865,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 63.3% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Stephen A. Smith opens up about illness: 'I didn't know if I was gonna make it'
ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith is opening up about his intense COVID-19 battle.
After Smith tested positive in December, he said he had a 103 degree fever every night.
"Woke up with chills and a pool of sweat. Headaches were massive. Coughing profusely," Smith said, according to The New York Post.
Smith said he was admitted to the hospital over New Year's with pneumonia in both lungs.
“They told me, had I not been vaccinated, I wouldn’t be here. That’s how bad it was," he said.
Smith is now back to work, but he said, "two-and-a-half, three weeks ago, I didn’t know if I was gonna make it.”
-ABC News' Will Gretsky
Disney is the parent company of ABC News and ESPN.
New York cases down 75% from early January
New York state, hit hard by the omicron surge over the holidays, is seeing COVID-19 cases down 75% from early January, state officials said.
New York reported 22,312 new cases Tuesday, according to state data. On Jan. 7, New York state recorded 90,132 daily cases.
The seven-day average of new cases is down 38.9% from the previous week and the seven-day average of hospital admissions dropped 13.6% from the previous week, according to state data.
"We hope to close the books on this winter surge soon," Gov. Kathy Hochul said Tuesday.
-ABC News' Will Gretsky
Biden administration website to order free tests goes live
The Biden administration's website to order four free at-home rapid tests per household is now live at covidtests.gov.
The tests won't ship for another seven to 12 days.
-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett
Omicron accounts for 99.5% of new cases in US: CDC
Omicron is estimated to account for 99.5% of new cases in the U.S. as of Saturday, according to new forecast data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday.
In early-December, omicron was estimated to account for just 0.6% of all new cases. The delta variant now accounts for only 0.5% of new U.S. cases, forecasters estimate.
These percentages are calculated using modeling and should be considered estimates, not exact figures.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
Beijing records 1st omicron case, tightens restrictions ahead of Olympics
China is tightening travel restrictions for its capital ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics, requiring all travelers to take a nucleic acid test within 72 hours of entry.
The new restrictions, which will be put in place on Jan. 22, were announced after Beijing recorded its first case of the highly contagious omicron variant in a suburb near many of the Olympic venues over the weekend. Health authorities have sealed off the patient's' residential compound and workplace.
Beijing health officials told reporters Monday that the single omicron case in the city may have been infected by a package the patient received from Canada. None of the patient's close contacts in their community or workplace tested positive, officials said during a press conference.
Some schools in Beijing have also closed early and moved classes online.
According to the Chinese National Health Commission's daily report released Monday, there were 65 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases on the mainland and 54 imported cases. One new case was recorded in Beijing, the report said.
The 2022 Winter Olympics is slated to kick off in the Chinese capital on Feb. 4.
-ABC News' Christine Theodorou and Karson Yiu