In newly updated COVID-19 guidance on its website, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that loosely woven cloth masks provide the "least protection", while masks like N95 respirators offer the highest level.

In some cases, Americans might want to opt for higher-quality masks like KN95 and N95 respirators, the agency said.

"Wearing a highly protective mask or respirator may be most important for certain higher risk situations, or by some people at increased risk for severe disease," the CDC stated.

The CDC recommendation stops short of calling on Americans to choose one mask over the other, maintaining that any mask is better than no mask.

The updated guidance comes after weeks of health experts urging Americans to upgrade their masks in the face of omicron.

-ABC News' Anne Flaherty

The White House will launch a new website on Wednesday to distribute 500 million free at-home rapid tests that'll be mailed to Americans' doorsteps, senior administration officials said on a Friday call with reporters.

People will be able to order four tests per household at from this first batch of 500 million. The White House will also launch a call line for people who don't have computer access.

The tests will take seven to 12 days to arrive, the senior officials said.

On Thursday, President Joe Biden also pledged a second 500 million tests, bringing the total free tests that will eventually be offered to Americans up to 1 billion.

-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett

New York is "turning the corner" following record-breaking COVID-19 cases over the holidays, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul.

She said the seven-day case average and positivity rate are heading down.

One week ago there were over 90,000 daily cases, and now just 49,027 daily cases, the governor said Friday.

However, state numbers may be skewed due to the increased demand in testing during the holidays.

New York state is seeing a slight decline in hospitalizations, but at 12,000 patients, that number "is still very high," the governor noted.

In New York City, Mayor Eric Adams said Friday “it really appears” hospitalization numbers are “stabilizing.”

"Based on our optimistic views, we appear to be moving in the right direction," he said.

-ABC News' Joshua Hoyos, Matt Foster

Nationwide, more than 157,000 COVID-19-positive patients are currently receiving care -- a pandemic high, according to federal data.

More than 5,200 children are currently hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 – also a record high.

On average, over 20,000 Americans are being admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 each day, a figure that's more than doubled over the last month, according to federal data.

It's still not clear how many of these patients were admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 and how many people coincidentally tested positive after they were admitted for other reasons.

About 83% of staffed adult ICU beds are occupied (by COVID and non-COVID patients) -- the highest ICU capacity in one year, according to federal data.

On average, the U.S. is now reporting a record high of more than 782,000 new COVID-19 cases each day, according to federal data.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

More than 300 children with COVID-19 are in Ohio hospitals, including Dayton Children's Hospital, where workers are seeing a significant increase in pediatric COVID-19-related hospitalizations.

Dr. Vipul Patel, chief of pediatric intensive care at Dayton Children's, told ABC News the ICU is now busier than at any other point in the pandemic.

COVID-19 is only exacerbating previously existing health issues for many children, Patel explained, adding that many parents are shocked to see their children become so sick, and some families have even expressed regret for not vaccinating their kids. Nationwide, about 35% of eligible children (ages 5 to 17) are fully vaccinated, according to federal data.

Dayton Children's respiratory therapist Hillary O’Neil said it's been particularly difficult to see children who are too young to understand what is happening sick and scared.

“You can see it in the faces of kids that can’t talk -- their eyes get really big and they, we watch them struggle to breathe,” O’Neil said. “Then on top of that we watch their parents struggle to watch their child, and that is sometimes just as hard as watching the kids.”

Jackie Kerby, whose baby, Enaeshya, is hospitalized with COVID-19, told ABC News, "She’s getting these fevers in the night, and they’re not coming down. … I am terribly scared."

Across the U.S. more than 5,000 children are currently hospitalized with a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19, according to federal data. On average, hospital admissions among children have quadrupled over the last month.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos, Kayna Whitworth