Editor’s note: This story will be updated regularly as new statistics are released.
As vaccines continue to be slowly distributed across the nation, the number of COVID-19 cases in the United States may finally be starting to decline from the record highs of the first half of January.
The New York Times reports the daily average of new COVID-19 cases this past week was 201,117, an 11 percent decrease from what it was 2 weeks ago.
Overall, the United States has more than 24 million confirmed COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.
Hospitalizations have decreased to about 122,000, about 6,000 less than a week ago.
COVID-19-related deaths in the United States have now surpassed 402,000. The average daily death toll is now at 3,300.
An incoming Biden administration official has predicted the death toll could reach 500,000 by mid-February.
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) predicts the United States will top 560,000 deaths by May 1 if current conditions continue.
The New York Times daily tracking graph shows 25 states where “new cases are higher and staying high.” That is down from 49 states last week.
There are 24 states listed as places where “cases are higher but going down.”
One state, Hawaii, is listed as being “lower and staying low.”
A weekly tracking graph by Reuters that was updated on Jan. 19 reports that there were 1.5 million new COVID-19 cases this past week, a decrease of 12 percent from the previous week.
However, the news agency reports there were 23,000 COVID-19 deaths last week, the third straight weekly record.
On Jan. 15, the United States set a record with 2.2 million COVID-19 tests performed.
The rate of positive test results nationwide was 11 percent this past week, down from 13 percent the prior week. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers a level above 5 percent to be “concerning.”
Iowa had the highest rate at 46 percent. It was followed by Idaho at 40 percent and Pennsylvania at 35 percent.
Source: healthline