COVID-19 infections fall 90% from the all-time pandemic high

New omicron infections in the United States have fallen 90% from the pandemic’s all-time high a month ago, reported CNBC News.

There are about 84,000 new cases a day, compared to 802,000 daily positive cases on January 12, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The rate of new hospitalizations has also dropped by 63%. On Jan. 20, the hospitalization rate peaked at 159,000 patients a day, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services. On Tuesday, the seven-day average reached 58,000.

The decline of average daily deaths has not declined significantly. However, it has improved since its highest level in a year on Feb. 1, with nearly 2,600 deaths per day. The death toll is currently below 2,000.

“While we’re not where we all want to be yet, we’re encouraged by the dramatic declines we’re seeing in cases and hospitalizations nationwide,” White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said last week.

As the number of new cases decreases, several states are loosening COVID-19 mandates. This month, New York, Illinois, and California did not renew their mask mandates for indoor activities. However, school mandates remain for schools. New Jersey plans to lift its mask mandate for schools in March.

"We have vaccines, we have a virus that, on a per case basis, tends to be less lethal, even though that's very much tied to the level of immunity that exists in our population. Now we have much more abilities to target our resources," Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University, told CNBC. "We're in a different state now than we were in 2020."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 76% of Americans have received at least one dose of the vaccine.