The latest on the coronavirus pandemic and the Omicron variant

The number of hospital beds in use for patients with Covid-19 has dropped below 100,000 for the first time in more than a month, according to data from the US Department of Health and Human Services. 

There are 99,925 current Covid-19 hospitalizations, which is a 38% drop from the peak of more than 160,000 from about three weeks ago. 

Overall, about one in seven inpatient beds are currently in use for Covid-19. There are about 18,000 Covid-19 patients in intensive care units around the country, according to HHS data. 

Hospitalization rates are highest right now in West Virginia, Kentucky and Alabama – each with more than 50 Covid-19 hospitalizations for every 100,000 residents. They’re lowest in Vermont and New Hampshire, each with less than 15 hospitalizations for every 100,000 residents. 

In December, hospitalization rates were 16 times higher among unvaccinated adults than they were among fully vaccinated adults, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among seniors age 65 and older, hospitalization rates were 51 times higher among the unvaccinated than among those who were fully vaccinated and boosted. 

Since the start of the pandemic, nearly 4.4 million people have been hospitalized with Covid-19, according to CDC data. In the first week of February, there were about 13,000 new Covid-19 admissions each day.

Here's a look at how US hospitalizations have changed over time, according to HHS data:

Professor Alain Fischer, France’s top vaccine strategist, told lawmakers Wednesday that the Covid-19 situation in the country could permit scrapping the country's vaccine pass by the end of March.

Fischer said that for the vaccine pass to be removed, France would need an incidence rate that is “10 or 20 times less than today” and that hospitals can no longer be overburdened.

“That can change quickly,” said Fischer, the chairman of the French vaccine strategy advisory board. “We should get there by the end of March, beginning of April.”

France's vaccine pass law requires people to have proof of full vaccination to access a wide range of everyday activities, like visiting restaurants and bars as well as long-distance public transport between regions.

Speaking to journalists on Wednesday regarding the Covid-19 situation, government spokesperson Gabriel Attal said, “The situation improves before us and allows us to look forward with a certain optimism.”

“There is the beginning of an improvement in the situation in hospitals,” Attal said, adding that the removal of the vaccine pass could also be followed by new rules on wearing masks. Currently, masks are required in all indoor public spaces in France, including on public transportation.

More background: As of Tuesday, there were more than 33,000 Covid-19-linked hospitalizations in France, compared to fewer than 7,000 in early November, ahead of France's 5th wave of coronavirus, according to Public Health France.

France recorded 235,267 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, according to the latest data from Public Health France. The number of cases has been falling gradually since its all-time peak of more than 500,000 cases on January 25.

Attal said that the National Health Council will provide new advice Thursday regarding Covid-19 regulations in schools, which he expects to move towards an easing of rules, including regarding mask-wearing and testing of contact cases.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has signaled an early end to all coronavirus restrictions in England, including the legal requirement to self-isolate for positive Covid-19 cases.

Johnson said he would present the government's strategy "for living with Covid" when Parliament returns from a short recess on Feb. 21.

The requirement for those who test positive for coronavirus to self-isolate is currently due to expire on March 24. Under the current regulations in England, people have to isolate if contacted by the National Health Service's contact tracers and must provide their addresses and names of people in their household.

In the past day, the United Kingdom recorded 66,871 new coronavirus cases and 317 deaths, according to the latest Johns Hopkins University data. 

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is expected to announce Wednesday a plan to roll back the state’s Covid-19 indoor mask mandate in most public places.

In the days leading up to his 3 p.m. scheduled news conference, the governor has alluded to changes to the mask policy, telling reporters asking about the mandate Tuesday at an unrelated news conference:

CNN has reached out to the governor’s office for more information. 

CNN affiliate WLS, the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun Times all reported that while the governor will likely announce a path for ending the mask mandate in most public places, his administration plans to keep masks on in schools for the time being.

At a news conference Monday, Pritzker said he asked the state’s attorney general to work to get a circuit judge’s temporary restraining order overturned that blocked schools from enforcing portions of Pritzker’s school-related Covid mitigation policies. 

Pritzker’s expected rollback of masking requirements in most public places, comes as the Omicron wave that swept across the US in the last few months has started to recede in most locations, prompting many state officials to pull back on Covid-19 mitigation measures.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected to end the state’s indoor mask mandate for businesses Wednesday, three people briefed on the decision told the New York Times.

The Omicron variant now accounts for 100% of Covid-19 cases in the United States, according to data published Tuesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The latest estimate of variants circulating in the US captures samples that were sequenced between Jan. 30 and Feb. 5 nationwide.

A newer subvariant of Omicron, the BA.2 lineage, is estimated to make up 3.6% of new cases, up from 1.2% a week earlier. Regional estimates suggest that this subvariant is slightly more prevalent in Western states, where it represents closer to 5% of new cases. 

The CDC estimates suggest that the Delta variant is no longer present in the US, accounting for no new cases in the most recent week. 

The head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is standing by the agency's mask guidelines, emphasizing Tuesday that now is not the time to change the recommendations or loosen restrictions aimed at preventing Covid-19.

The CDC "still recommends that all schools encourage students to wear well-fitting masks consistently and while indoors. And that's consistent with our guidance that still also recommends that people mask in public indoor settings in areas of high or substantial transmission," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a radio interview with WYPR's Tom Hall on Tuesday's edition of the show "Midday."

A growing number of states, from California to Delaware, have announced this week their intentions to drop indoor mask mandates in the coming days. Some others, like Connecticut and New Jersey, are eliminating mask mandates in schools.

Walensky noted that states and municipalities can determine their own policies.

According to the CDC, 99% of US counties still have high levels of coronavirus transmission. Walensky said she was cautiously optimistic about case numbers dropping from the peak of the Omicron surge but said that at the moment, those numbers are still too high for the agency to consider lifting any mitigation measures.

Read more about Walensky's comments here.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will end the state's strict Covid-19 mitigation requirements for businesses Wednesday, three people briefed on the decision told The New York Times.

The mandate requires businesses to ask customers for proof of vaccination or for them to wear masks indoors, except when eating or drinking.

CNN has reached out to Hochul's office and other stakeholders for comment.

Earlier Tuesday, Hochul said she planned to make an announcement Wednesday regarding mask mandates for businesses, one day before it was set to expire across the state.

The announcement comes as the Omicron wave that swept across the US in the last few months has started to recede, prompting many state officials to pull back on Covid-19 mitigation measures.

Hochul issued the mask-or-vaccine requirement for all indoor businesses in December 2021 as the Omicron variant caused a large increase in Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths. That wave of new cases peaked about a month ago and has since receded.

Two weeks ago, a judge struck down the mandate, saying the Department of Health did not have the authority to put it in place, but an appeals court judge allowed it to stay in effect.

Other states have started lifting their mask mandates. Oregon's health department announced the state will remove general mask requirements for indoor public places no later than March 31. School mask mandates will also be lifted March 31, according to CNN affiliate KATU-TV.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the state's indoor mask requirement will expire Feb. 15, though unvaccinated people will still need to wear masks indoors.

Read the full story here.

During the week of Jan. 31 to Feb. 6, global Covid-19 deaths increased by 7% compared with the week before, with just under 68,000 new deaths reported, according to the World Health Organization’s weekly epidemiological update published Tuesday. 

Of the six WHO regions, two reported increases in deaths: the South-East Asia Region with 67% and the Eastern Mediterranean Region with 45%. The Region of the Americas and the European Region reported numbers similar to the week before. The African Region reported a decrease of 14% and Western Pacific Region reported a decrease of 5%

Overall, as of Feb. 6, over 5.7 million deaths have been reported across the world. 

The number of cases reported across the world decreased by 17%, with over 19 million new cases being reported. 

The Eastern Mediterranean Region reported an increase of 36%, while the other regions reported decreases. The Region of the Americas reported a 36% decrease, the South-East Asia Region reported a 32% decrease, the African Region reported a 22% decrease, the Western Pacific region reported an 8% decrease and the European Region reported a 7% decrease.  

The US also reported the highest number of new cases, followed by France, Germany, Brazil and India. 

There have been over 392 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 reported across the world as of Feb. 6. 

Sweden has gone ahead with plans to lift the majority of its Covid-19 restrictions, the Swedish Health Ministry confirmed to CNN on Wednesday. 

Last week, the government announced its intention to lift most restrictions, including an 11 p.m. curfew on bars and restaurants and limits on the size of parties and distance between parties in hospitality settings starting today.

Vaccination certificates are now no longer needed to attend certain public events, attendance limits on public events have been lifted and square meter restrictions applying to trade fairs, shops and cultural and leisure settings have been removed. 

Swedish people are no longer advised to keep their number of social contacts low, and workplaces and universities which have been carrying out remote learning are being advised to return gradually.

Certain limited health measures will remain in place, including guidance for all Swedes over 12 years to get vaccinated, to stay at home and avoid close contact with others if they show symptoms that may be Covid-19, and for unvaccinated adults to show caution in crowded indoor public spaces, the health ministry said.

The relaxation of measures comes after fellow Scandinavian countries Norway and Denmark also announced the lifting of most Covid-19 restrictions earlier this month. 

Sweden initially eschewed lockdowns, prompting criticism of the government and health agency, but then imposed restrictions on public life in the face of high coronavirus case numbers. 

On April 1, all remaining restrictions in Sweden will be removed or “adapted to the prevailing spread of infection,” the government has said. The Covid-19 vaccination recommendation will remain, however, alongside “special recommendations for health and medical care and care environments.”

CNN's Henrik Pettersson and Niamh Kennedy contributed to this post.