New COVID-19 cases in the U.S. continue to fall steadily as states around the country start to loosen restrictions. Republican governors in Iowa, Montana and North Dakota have lifted statewide mask mandates, despite warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to leave mask requirements in place.
Public health experts warn daily case numbers remain dangerously high and that rapidly spreading virus variants could create new surges. Researchers have found at least seven fast-spreading coronavirus lineages in the U.S. with the same mutation — providing more evidence that variants are evolving to become more transmissible.