ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Editor's note: Video above is from a previous story.
It's been two years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.
Since then, a total of 6,031,877 people worldwide have died after testing positive for COVID-19, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. In the United States, 965,466 people have died from COVID-19.
Closer to home, here in Florida, the state health department reports 70,997 people have died since the pandemic began.
More than 5.8 million people in Florida have reportedly tested positive for the virus, according to state data.
But, there appears to be hope on the horizon.
The Associated Press says hospitalizations of people with COVID-19 have plummeted 80 percent in the last six weeks across the U.S. since a mid-January pandemic peak, dropping to the lowest levels since July 2021, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Case counts have followed the same trend line to the lowest counts since last summer as well. Even the death tally, which typically lags behind cases and hospitalizations, has slowed significantly in the last month.
On Thursday, the CDC said as of March 10, more than 98 percent of the U.S. population is in a location with low or medium COVID-19 Community Level.
This new tool follows the CDC's revised guidance in February that eased mask guidelines for more than 70 percent of Americans.
What does that mean exactly? The CDC says the community level tool is meant to help communities determine what prevention steps should be taken based on COVID-19 data, including case numbers and hospitalizations.
If a community has a "low" level, people are advised to stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations and get tested if they have symptoms of the virus.
For communities in "medium" levels, people who are at high risk of severe illness should talk to their doctor about mask-wearing and other precautions. Everyone else should stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations and get tested if they have symptoms.
If you live in a community marked "high," you should wear a mask indoors in public and follow the guidelines prescribed for the other two levels.
The Tampa Bay area, with the exception of Manatee County, is currently at the "medium" level. Manatee County is listed at a "low" level. You can get more details here.
What about COVID-19 community transmission levels? According to CDC data, since March 4, the Tampa Bay region has a "substantial" risk of COVID-19 transmission. This is down from a "high" risk.
Still, the Transportation Security Administration extended the requirements for masks on planes and public transportation for one more month — through mid-April — saying it'll give the CDC time to develop new, more targeted policies that will consider numbers of COVID-19 cases nationally and locally, and the risk of new variants.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.