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:
In 1 month US records more than one-quarter of its total cases for the pandemic
The U.S. is now reporting an average of about 745,000 new cases per day, down by about 5% in the last week, according to federal data. It is still unclear whether the nation is experiencing a true plateau or whether data is skewed from the holiday weekend.
In the last month alone, the U.S. recorded 18.2 million new cases, according to Johns Hopkins University data -- more than one-quarter of the nation's total number of confirmed cases reported since the onset of the pandemic.
There's growing evidence to suggest the latest omicron surge continues to recede in the parts of the country first struck by the variant.
In New York, daily cases have dropped by nearly 38% in the last week, and in New Jersey, new cases are down by 45.8%, according to federal data.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
Non-citizens entering US via land border, ferry terminals must be fully vaccinated
Beginning Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security is requiring non-U.S. citizens entering the U.S. via land or ferry to be fully vaccinated.
This rule, outlined in October, applies to people arriving from Mexico's and Canada's borders.
This requirement does not apply to U.S. citizens traveling over the border.
-ABC News' Luke Barr
Breakthrough cases grew fourfold during omicron emergence: CDC
Despite waning immunity over time, vaccines still dramatically reduced the risk of severe illness caused by COVID-19 through at least the end of the delta wave, according to data updated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Thursday evening.
In November, unvaccinated adults had a four times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19, and a 15 times greater risk of dying from COVID-19, compared to vaccinated individuals, according to federal data pulled from 28 states and jurisdictions.
Additionally, unvaccinated adults had a 13 times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 and a 68 times greater risk of dying from it as compared to fully vaccinated individuals with a booster.
The emergence of omicron does appear to have increased the occurrence of breakthrough cases. Between late November and late-December, the rate of infections among the fully vaccinated increased more than fourfold. Even so, unvaccinated Americans remained twice as likely to test positive for the virus.
Similarly, the rate of infections among the fully vaccinated and boosted Americans testing positive increased by nearly tenfold. However, unvaccinated Americans remained 3.8 times as likely to test positive for the virus.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
Wastewater data finds omicron may have been in US as early as Nov. 21
A new CDC study finds that the omicron variant was likely in the U.S. more than a week before the first case was detected.
The first official case was detected on Dec. 1 in California. But a review of the national wastewater surveillance system indicates that the variant could have been present as early as Nov. 21, according to samples collected in New York City.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos, Sony Salzman
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.