U.S. COVID update (September 22): More than 1,300 new deaths

The weekly death toll from COVID in the U.S. stayed well above 1,000 for the sixth week in a row, even though the number of new cases continued to drop, according to figures collected by BNO News. Parts of the northeast, including New York, are seeing an uptick in cases.

At least 131,271 new cases were reported between September 16 and September 22, down from 150,210 the week before (-12.6%). Those figures were collected from state health departments and, where necessary, estimated based on hospital admissions.

Actual case numbers are higher because many hospitals and states are no longer reporting detailed COVID data. Laboratory testing is also low as most people and doctors are using at-home tests which are not included in official statistics.

“There are continued signs of declines in COVID-19 activity in many areas,” the CDC said in a brief update on Friday. “COVID-19 test positivity, emergency department visits, and rates of COVID-19–associated hospitalizations are decreasing.”

During the past week, cases increased in only 6 out of 22 states with consistent but limited data. Notable increases include Oregon (+30%), Maryland (+27%), Massachusetts (+17%), Michigan (+16%), New York (+12%) and New Jersey (+4).

The CDC estimates that COVID cases are currently rising in 3 states (unchanged from last week), declining or likely declining in 23 states (down from 31), and stable or uncertain in 23 states (up from 13). Nationally, COVID test positivity is 14.9%, which is unchanged from last week.

Only 32.6% of hospitals in the U.S. submitted COVID data this week, down from last week (33.2%) and the lowest since the end of mandatory reporting on May 1. Those limited figures reveal that at least 4,974 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID, down from 5,299 last week.

1,360 new COVID deaths were reported during the week, the sixth week in a row with more than 1,000 new deaths. It’s also the 11th week in a row with more than 500 new deaths and the 236th week with more than 400 new deaths.

So far this year, more than 5.4 million COVID cases have been reported across the U.S., causing at least 369,739 hospitalizations (limited data) and 42,710 deaths, according to BNO’s COVID data tracker.

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