Forecast models used by the CDC suggest that daily COVID-19 fatalities will finally begin to fall in the U.S. in the weeks to come.

The ensemble model estimates that only eight states have a greater than 50% chance of having more deaths over the next two weeks compared to the past two weeks, and two states and territories have a greater than 75% chance of seeing an increase.

The models predict the U.S. death toll will be at approximately 968,000 by March 12.

The CDC obtains the forecasts from the COVID-19 Forecast Hub at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where a team monitors and combines forecasting models from the nation’s top researchers. The team then creates an ensemble -- displayed like a hurricane forecast spaghetti plot -- usually with a wide cone of uncertainty.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

The U.S. daily case rate has dropped to 144,000 -- an 81% drop since the peak about one month ago, according to federal data.

But experts continue to caution that the pandemic is not over, with the country reporting millions of new cases every week and 97% of counties still reporting high transmission. Experts also point out that many Americans are taking at-home tests and not submitting their results, so case totals may be higher than reported.

Deaths -- a lagging indicator -- remain high.

The U.S. is reporting an average of 2,200 lives lost to COVID-19 each day.

Fifteen states are reporting at least a 10% increase in daily death rates over the last week: Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, California, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont and West Virginia.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

A new report from the United Kingdom's public health agency highlights mounting evidence that getting vaccinated can significantly reduce the risk of developing long COVID. 

Most people recover fully from COVID-19 but some experience symptoms like fatigue, shortness of breath and brain fog for months after infection.

The U.K. report summarizes the results of 15 previously published studies on long COVID from around the world. Collectively, these studies suggest that people who have been vaccinated are far less likely to develop long COVID.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos, Sony Salzman

The global number of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases fell by 19% during the week ending on Feb. 13, compared to the previous week, according to a weekly epidemiological update released Tuesday by the World Health Organization.

Meanwhile, the number of newly recorded deaths from the disease that week remained similar to that of the previous week. Just over 16 million new cases and just under 75,000 new fatalities were reported worldwide during the week of Feb. 7 to Feb. 13, the WHO said.

All WHO regions reported decreases in the number of weekly cases except for the Western Pacific region, which reported an increase of 19%. The number of new weekly deaths increased in the Eastern Mediterranean region, the Western Pacific region, the African region and the region of the Americas, while it remained similar to that of the previous week in the European region and decreased in the Southeast Asia region, according to the WHO.

South Carolina health officials announced Friday that the state will start phasing out public COVID-19 testing options due to the increased availability of at-home tests.

Beginning March 1, publicly operated vendor testing sites will begin closing and publicly operated PCR sites will start shutting down in April.

"A prime driver of these changes is that with increased availability of rapid antigen testing, it is now the most effective testing tool to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and help people make informed decisions about whether to isolate," officials from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control said in a press release.

"DHEC will continue to follow the science and update our guidelines and response to COVID-19 as conditions change," the release said.

Additionally, the state will no longer report daily COVID-19 case counts because at-home test results are rarely reported to health officials.

Instead, case totals will be reported weekly, although data on hospitalizations and deaths will continue to be reported every day.

-ABC News' Janice McDonald and Arielle Mitropoulos