 New
U.S. COVID-19 cases show weekly uptick for first time since January
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[March 23, 2021]
(Reuters) - New cases of COVID-19 in the
United States rose 5% to more than 394,000 last week, the first increase
after declining for nine straight weeks, according to a Reuters analysis
of state, county and CDC data.
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 Thirty out of 50 states reported more new infections in the week
ended March 21 compared with the previous seven days, up from 19
states in the prior week, according to the Reuters analysis.
Nationally, the weekly number of new cases had been on a downward
trend since January, though health authorities have warned that
infections could surge again if Americans relaxed social distancing
restrictions too quickly. More infectious variants have also spread
across the country.
"I am worried that if we don't take the right actions now we will
have another avoidable surge just as we are seeing in Europe right
now and just as we are so aggressively scaling up vaccinations,"
said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, on Monday.
The Northeast logged some of the highest rates of infection per
capita, led by New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island.
(Open https://tmsnrt.rs/2WTOZDR in an external browser to see
state-by-state details.)
Deaths from COVID fell 15% to 7,793 last week, or about 1,100 per
day, according to the Reuters analysis. Health officials hope the
country's vaccination effort can prevent a rise in deaths even if
cases surge again.
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 For a fourth week, daily
average vaccinations set a record, with 2.5
million shots given per day last week. As of
Sunday, 25% of the U.S. population has received
at least one dose of a vaccine, up from 21% a
week ago, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. About 13% has received
two doses, up from 11%.
The average number of COVID-19 patients in U.S.
hospitals fell 6% to 36,000, the lowest since
October, according to a Reuters tally.
Hospitalizations have fallen for 10 weeks
nationally, but they are rising in 18 states, up
from four states the previous week.
(Graphic by Chris Canipe, writing by Lisa
Shumaker, editing by Tiffany Wu)
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