Several hundred White House staffers have already been vaccinated against COVID-19 by the White House medical team, White House officials said, confirming a report from Axios.

The White House hopes to vaccinate all in-person staff in the next few weeks, officials said.

ABC News’ Molly Nagle contributed to this report

The United States is seeing improvements in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations. In the last two weeks, the country's seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases has declined by 33.1%, according to ABC News' analysis of data compiled by The COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer-run effort to track the U.S. outbreak.

On Monday, Missouri reported the fewest number of new cases since September, while South Dakota reported the lowest number of new cases since July.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are also declining nationwide. The COVID Tracking Project said the number of people hospitalized with the disease in the U.S. is currently at its lowest since Dec. 14.

Hospitalizations are even trending down in California, which has more COVID-19 patients in hospitals than any other U.S. state.

ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulous contributed to this report.

Colombian President Ivan Duque announced Tuesday that Defense Minister Carlos Holmes Trujilo died in the early morning hours from COVID-19 complications. He was 69.

"I can't express the pain that I have," Duque said in a statement while conveying his condolences to Trujilo's family.

Colombia has the third-highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Americas, behind the United States and Brazil, according to the World Health Organization.

ABC News’ Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.

Europe's longest land border, spanning more than 1,000 miles, has closed for the first time since World War II.

Sweden's temporary ban on entry from neighboring Norway went into effect Monday and will last until at least Feb. 14. The Swedish government has also extended an entry ban from the United Kingdom and Denmark until the same date.

The move comes amid concerns over a new, more contagious variant of the novel coronavirus that was first identified in the U.K. and has since spread to Norway's capital and the surrounding area.

On Saturday, shortly before Sweden announced the new travel ban, the Norwegian government imposed strict new lockdown measures for Oslo and nine neighboring municipalities due to an outbreak of the variant.

ABC News' Clark Bentson contributed to this report.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor signed an executive order Thursday requiring the use of face coverings at outdoor Super Bowl-related activities to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the Florida city.

The order targets sites where large crowds of people are likely to congregate around the Super Bowl this weekend, with limited ability to remain socially distant from each other. They include "Event Zones" in areas of downtown Tampa and surrounding Raymond James Stadium, as well as "Entertainment Districts," including Ybor City Historic District, the South Howard Commercial Overlay District, the Central Business District and the Channel District.

Those exempt from the order include children under the age of 5, someone communicating with a hearing-impaired individual and people with existing health conditions who would be impaired by a mask.

The Super Bowl will be held on Feb. 7 between the Kansas City Chiefs and hometown Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The mask mandate is in effect now through Feb. 13. Those who violate it could be subject to a $500 fine.

The NFL had previously announced that masks will be required in the stadium unless eating or drinking.

Under a previous order still in effect, masks are required in Tampa at indoor locations outside the home when social distancing cannot be maintained.

ABC News' Will McDuffie contributed to this report