On the nationwide stage, we’re seeing blended indicators: Reported COVID-19 circumstances within the U.S. have declined very barely since final Wednesday, whereas reported assessments declined just a little bit extra. The US now has greater than 119,000 folks presently hospitalized with COVID-19, an increase of 5 p.c from final week. States and territories reported 18,690 COVID-19 deaths this week—a median of two,670 per day.
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A regional breakdown reveals that the 4 important census areas of the nation at the moment are reporting very completely different experiences of the pandemic. The nation’s case will increase at the moment are being pushed by the South and the West, whereas the Midwest continues its fast decline, and the Northeast seems to have reached a plateau.
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Continued hospitalization declines within the Midwest present further proof that the outbreaks there have eased, whereas the Northeast’s hospitalizations are not rising as persistently as that they had been. The South and the West are reporting hospitalization numbers a lot increased than their summer-surge peaks, and are nonetheless rising sharply.
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Seventeen states have seen sharp drops within the variety of new circumstances reported since December 9, and each state within the Midwest has reported fewer circumstances now than two weeks in the past. That this has not prompted substantial drops within the nationwide case depend is because of a handful of states reporting very sharp case rises. Amongst these states are the nation’s three most populous, California, Florida, and Texas.
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Case will increase are usually not restricted to those populous states—13 of 17 jurisdictions within the South posted case will increase prior to now two weeks—however taken collectively, Arizona, California, Florida, Tennessee, and Texas account for 40 p.c of all new circumstances reported prior to now seven days.
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In California, circumstances are up an astonishing 68 p.c since December 9, with the state reporting 292,995 new COVID-19 circumstances this week alone, whereas hospitalizations soar and ICU capability wanes. COVID Monitoring Challenge contributor Whet Moser reported on the state’s wrenching situation this week in The Atlantic. We took a more in-depth look this week at what we will find out about which communities have been most affected within the state’s outbreak, utilizing knowledge from the COVID Racial Data Tracker.
All through the course of the pandemic in California, the virus has disproportionately affected Latino folks. So far, 789,553 COVID-19 circumstances in California have been amongst Latino folks, 56 p.c of all circumstances for which race or ethnicity is reported.
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Multiple in 100 Latino folks in California aged 80 or older have died of COVID-19 for the reason that pandemic started, and Latino Californians from the ages of 35 to 50 are practically eight instances as more likely to have died as white Californians in the identical age vary.
Younger Black Californians have additionally suffered proportionately extra deaths than did their white neighbors. Black Californians from the ages of 18 to 34 are practically seven instances as more likely to have died as white Californians in the identical age vary.
