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.
Latest headlines:
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
COVID-19 patient at center of life support battle transferred from Minnesota to Texas
A Minnesota man severely ill with COVID-19 was transferred to a Texas hospital over the weekend, after his wife was granted a temporary restraining order against the Minnesota hospital where doctors informed her they would take him off a ventilator.
Scott Quiner, 55, of Buffalo, Minnesota, tested positive for COVID-19 in late October and was initially admitted to Waconia Hospital before being transferred to the intensive care unit at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids on Nov. 6, according to a GoFundMe page in support of the Quiner family and an article by the StarTribune, which was first to report the story.
A court order, issued last Thursday and obtained by ABC News, prohibited Mercy Hospital from disconnecting the ventilator that had been supporting Scott Quiner for months while his wife, Anne Quiner, searched for a new facility to continue his care. An Anoka County judge granted the order after health care providers advised Anne Quiner that they "intend[ed] to take actions on Thursday, January 13, 2022, that [would] end [her] husband’s life."
According to court documents, Anne Quiner told doctors that, as her husband’s health care proxy, she "vehemently disagree[d]" with these actions, and did not want her husband’s ventilator turned off.
Over the weekend, Scott Quiner was subsequently moved to a facility in Texas for treatment, according to the Quiner family's attorney, Marjorie J. Holsten.
"A doctor evaluated him and determined that he was severely undernourished. Scott has been receiving much-needed nourishment and hydration and medications that were not given by Mercy," Holsten told ABC News in a statement Monday. "He is being weaned off of the sedating drugs and has already been able to follow with his eyes movements the doctor made with his hands. He is making progress in the right direction, though he has a long road ahead of him and continued prayers are appreciated."
Representatives for Allina Health, which operates Mercy Hospital, said they wish the patient and his family well and have "great confidence" in their team's work.
“Allina Health has great confidence in the exceptional care provided to our patients, which is administered according to evidence-based practices by our talented and compassionate medical teams. Due to patient privacy, we cannot comment on care provided to specific patients,” the health system told ABC News in a statement Monday. "Allina Health continues to wish the patient and family well. Any information regarding the patient’s on-going care should be directed to his current medical provider."
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
Italian police arrest nurse accused of faking shots for anti-vaxxers
Italian police have arrested a nurse accused of pretending to inject COVID-19 vaccines into the arms of anti-vaxxers so they could benefit from vaccination certificates.
Investigators used a hidden camera to capture the nurse working at a vaccination center in Palmero. A clip from the footage, released Saturday by Italy's State Police, purportedly shows the woman preparing a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and then emptying the syringe into a piece of gauze before pretending to inject it into an individual's arm. She faces charges of forgery and embezzlement, according to police.
Police said the woman also faked her own booster shot so she could continue working at the vaccination center, in coordination with another nurse who was arrested last December on similar charges. The other nurse is accused of faking COVID-19 vaccinations for 11 people, including a well-known leader of an anti-vaccine movement, according to police.
New restrictions came into force in Italy on Jan. 10, barring people who aren't fully vaccinated against COVID-19 from accessing restaurants, gyms, swimming pools, theaters, cinemas, sport events and public transport. Unvaccinated individuals who recently recovered from COVID-19 are exempt from the new rule, which will be in force until March 31. The measures were imposed amid a sharp rise in COVID-19 infections across the European country.