The COVID-19 surge caused by the Omicron variant continues to recede in the United States, with the nation reporting a 7-day average of 175,492 new daily cases, with 2,458 daily deaths, according to the Washington Post tracker.
New daily cases fell 42% in the past week, deaths fell 6%, and hospitalizations fell 19%.
The United States reported 32,531 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, and 441 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 tracker.
The drop in cases—almost 2 years into the pandemic—has caused lawmakers across both sides of the ails to dismantle pandemic restrictions in states and cities.
Late last week, Republican members of Congress said it was time for President Biden to end the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), which is set to expire on Apr 15.
"Although the PHE was certainly necessary at the outset of the pandemic, it was always meant to be temporary. Our country is now in a much different situation than we were when the PHE was originally enacted," the GOP members of Congress wrote in a letter, according to National Public Radio.
Americans split on mask mandates
The American public, meanwhile, appears to be split on COVID-19 measures. Fifty-six percent of Americans say their states should have mask mandates, according to a new CBS News/YouGov poll, and 53% percent say they're still feeling patient about COVID-19 safety measures.
Only 47% of those polled said things are going well in the pandemic response right now, compared to 64% in late July, before the Delta and Omicron variants led to new surges of virus activity.
Among parents, 57% said they support masking in schools, while 36% said they wish masks were optional.
One of the biggest employers in the country, Walmart, announced employees who are fully vaccinated no longer have to wear masks, ABC News reports. The policy is effective immediately.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID Data Tracker shows 64.4% of Americans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, 75.9% have received at least one dose of vaccine, and 42.8% of fully vaccinated Americans have received a booster dose.
