The United States recorded 989 deaths from COVID-19 on Monday, as the daily death toll fell below 1,000 for the first time since November. The seven-day average of new cases has dropped from January’s high to less than 100,000 per day but remains higher than a second surge of U.S. infections seen last summer. In Louisiana, officials have canceled Mardi Gras events, including today’s “Fat Tuesday” celebration — one year after Mardi Gras became an early superspreader event.