Average daily new coronavirus cases in the United States have dipped below 100,000 in recent days for the first time in months, but experts cautioned that infections remain high and precautions to slow the pandemic must remain in place.

The seven-day rolling average of new infections was well above 200,000 for much of December and went to roughly 250,000 in January, according to data kept by Johns Hopkins University, as the pandemic came roaring back after it had been tamed in some places over the summer.

That average dropped below 100,000 on Friday for the first time since Nov. 4. It stayed below 100,000 on Saturday.

The US has recorded more than 27.5 million virus cases and more than 484,000 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins data.