The sustained downward trend in the national daily case average has brought the seven-day average for new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. down to 64,276 as of Feb. 28, according to data from The New York Times. And as numbers approach pre-Delta surge levels not seen since July, many states are beginning to remove public health protocols such as mask requirements as officials begin to reassess how we learn to live with the virus.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb In an op-ed piece published by The Times on Feb. 25, Ashish Jha, MD, dean of Brown’s School of Public Health, spoke about how the most recent COVID-19 guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding such changes should be welcomed, calling them “well-timed and consistent with the science” that could be used to determine health policy on the virus going forward. The new system, which makes masking recommendations on the risk level for poor outcomes by county based on hospital capacity, now places more than 70 percent of the U.S. under the lowest risk designation. “A virus and a population interact in a dizzyingly dynamic system, with mutations and layering immunity forming different profiles of population-wide risk at different times,” Jha wrote. “Policy does and should recognize when these factors have changed enough to justify new approaches.” RELATED: These 4 New COVID Symptoms Could Mean You Have Omicron, Doctors Warn. Still, Jha argues that this doesn’t mean specific safety protocols will disappear forever. Another surge could bring back the need for indoor masks to help control the spread of the virus, especially as vaccination rates continue to decline along with dwindling cases. Some experts worry that such changes in urgency are premature. “I can think back to just last week when I had to put someone on a breathing machine who was unvaccinated, so this continues to be with us,” Anuj Mehta, MD, a pulmonologist with Denver Health in Colorado, told The Guardian. “I could imagine a time this summer or fall [when people who] tested positive for COVID in the last three months will think that they have ongoing immunity, and I think that’s not true,” he added. But until that time, Jha says considering the appropriate data will help move the nation into the next phase of handling COVID. “Changing the way we use these tools—when to pull them out and when to put them away—is a critical part of managing a pandemic effectively,” he argued. “The CDC’s new guidance does just that by focusing on the metrics that matter most at this point in the pandemic.” Read on to see the only states to have experienced COVID spikes over the past week as of March 1, according to data from The Washington Post. RELATED: This Is How Long Your Omicron Symptoms Will Last, Doctors Say.
New cases in the last seven days: 58 cases per 100,000 people Percent increase in the last seven days: 1 percent
During a press conference on Feb. 28, health officials in New Hampshire said that new COVID-19 cases in the state were likely still lower than in reality due to the high number of at-home tests that don’t get reported. However, data also showed that hospitalizations in the state fell to 82, which is the lowest recorded level since August of 2020.
New cases in the last seven days: 34 cases per 100,000 people Percent increase in the last seven days: 3 percent
A slight increase in cases in California over the past week was also met with a decrease in hospitalizations during the same period, with the weekly average dropping 24 percent to 11 patients per 100,000 people as of Feb. 28, according to data from The Post. The state also dropped its indoor mask mandate for most spaces on March 1, with the face-covering order in public schools expected to come down next week. “We’ll continue to focus on scaling back provisions while maintaining essential testing, vaccination, and health care system supports that ensure California has the needed tools and flexibility to strategically adapt our response for what lies ahead,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said during a press conference.
RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter.
New cases in the last seven days: 30 cases per 100,000 people Percent increase in the last seven days: 59 percent
Cases in Nevada spiked over the past week for the first time since Gov. Steve Sisolak repealed the state’s mask mandate on Feb. 10. However, hospitalizations still dropped 35 percent over the same period to 14 COVID-19 patients per 100,000 people as of Feb. 28, according to data from The Post.
New cases in the last seven days: 15 cases per 100,000 people Percent increase in the last seven days: 0 percent
As of March 1, Washington was the only state in the U.S. where cases remained flat over the past week. Hospitalizations continued to decrease over the same period, however, dropping 20 percent to 12 patients per capita, according to The Post. Notably, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee joined with officials from California and Oregon in announcing that all three states would be ending mask mandates in schools on March 12. Businesses in Washington will also see the regulation dropped on the same day, moving the previously scheduled timeline up from March 21. RELATED: Dr. Fauci Just Said When COVID Restrictions Will Really Be Gone.
title: “These Are The Only 3 States Where Covid Is Spiking Best Life” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-24” author: “Barbara Wilkerson”
The ongoing decline in cases across the U.S. has remained steady since reaching its peak on Jan. 14, dropping 46 percent in the last seven days alone. Certain states have followed along with the decrease, with New York posting a drop in cases of more than 50 percent over the past two weeks, the Associated Press reports. “I think what’s influencing the decline, of course, is that Omicron is starting to run out of people to infect,” Thomas Russo, MD, professor and infectious disease chief at the University of Buffalo’s Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, told the AP. RELATED: Dr. Fauci Says This Is Now the “Best Case Scenario” for Ending COVID. Even by other metrics, the pandemic seems to be coming under control. Hospitalizations from the virus have decreased 43 percent to a daily average of 65,861 as of Feb.21, and daily deaths have dropped 19 percent to 2,096, according to data from The New York Times. But experts warn that it’s still premature to declare victory over COVID. “In most of the country, cases, deaths, and hospitalizations are still extremely high, and I certainly hope that’s not the new normal, and I don’t believe it’s the new normal,” Justin Lessler, PhD, an epidemiology professor at the University of North Carolina, told The Guardian. “I worry that the perception that we are already there is going to lead people to act in ways that [are] going to draw this out longer than it needs to be drawn out.” Others cautioned that we needed to resist the urge to drop certain safety measures too early. “I think it’s probably reasonable not to get too cocky at this point,” Jennifer Nuzzo, DrPH, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told The Guardian. “I welcome the decline in cases that we are seeing in the U.S. and a number of other countries, and I think you can both celebrate the sunshine while also keeping an umbrella close by for the possibility that rain could occur.” Read on to see the only states to have experienced COVID spikes over the past week as of Feb. 22, according to data from The Washington Post. RELATED: Dr. Fauci Just Said When COVID Restrictions Will Really Be Gone.
New cases in the last seven days: 25 cases per 100,000 people Percent increase in the last seven days: 1 percent
The modest bump in COVID cases in Connecticut comes as the state reported a drop in its positive test rate to 2.97 percent. The number of hospitalizations had also fallen by 29 over the weekend to 261.
New cases in the last seven days: 22 cases per 100,000 people Percent increase in the last seven days: 2 percent
On Feb. 20, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported an additional 1,393 COVID cases, bringing the state’s all-time total to 2,744,145. It also reported 103 new deaths from the virus, bringing the statewide total to 42,789.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb
RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter.
New cases in the last seven days: 40 cases per 100,000 people Percent increase in the last seven days: 15 percent
The South Dakota Department of Health reported hospitalizations in the state remained steady during its update on Feb. 18, with 222 patients currently admitted with the virus. The state’s most recent positive test rate was reported as 11.8 percent as of Feb. 17, according to COVID Act Now.
New cases in the last seven days: 245 cases per 100,000 people Percent increase in the last seven days: 57 percent
A backlog of reported cases was finally processed by the Maine Center for Disease Control on Feb. 15, resulting in the addition of 10,968 cases, the Portland Press Herald reports. This means that the data doesn’t accurately reflect current trends in infections, while other metrics, including wastewater testing and hospitalizations, show that conditions in the state are actually improving. “In recent days, we launched a system to automate a portion of this (case count) process,” Robert Long, Maine CDC spokesman, said in a statement on Feb. 15. “As a result, for several days starting with the update on February 15, the Maine CDC webpage will show a significant increase in the day-to-day tallies of total cases, confirmed cases, and probable cases.” RELATED: If You Notice This on Your Face, It Could Be an Omicron Symptom.
