The number of Covid-19 cases this week reached its highest level since January, according to the health records.
This week, the seven-day average of cases reached 164,000, the highest level since Jan. 26, when the terrible winter surge was at its peak.
According to tracking statistics gathered by The Washington Post, Maine had the most increase in a rolling 7-day average of new cases as of Thursday. The number of new cases in the state increased by 55 percent, with 5,722 infections per 100,000. Ohio, with a 46 percent week-over-week increase, rounded out the top five, followed by Idaho (43 percent), West Virginia (40 percent), and Alabama (37 percent).
The top states contributed considerably to the country’s expanding caseload, which saw new infections rise by an average of 9 percent, or 164,386 per day, in all 50 states. In January, the number of new cases surged at 251,000 per day on average.
In January, new infections spiked before Covid-19 vaccinations became widely accessible, in contrast to this month, when new infections spiked due to the virus’s Delta strain. According to an Israeli study released in July, the vaccine created by Pfizer and BioNTech was only effective against the Delta variant 39 percent of the time, whereas another study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found it to be 80 percent effective.
It remains to be seen whether the virus’s death toll will climb in lockstep. In January, that number peaked at over 3,000 each day, with six days exceeding 4,000. The total stands at 1,403 as of Thursday. Deaths are several weeks behind new infection counts.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 101,050 Americans were hospitalized with Covid-19 as of Thursday. In the final week of January, there were 107,266 people.
The statistics also showed that Florida, which has been the focus of national attention because of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) opposition to face masks and other Covid-19 measures, saw cases drop by 8 percent this week, to an average of 15,223 per 100,000 residents.
Only two states witnessed the highest drop week-over-week. Mississippi (11 percent) and Louisiana (36 percent).
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