U.S. COVID update (June 30): Cases rising across the country

COVID cases are still rising across most of the U.S., with notable upticks in Virginia and New Jersey, according to statistics collected by BNO News. While COVID levels are still relatively low compared to the winter, they’re double compared to last summer.

At least 88,862 new cases were reported between June 24 and June 30, up from 80,464 the week before (+10.4%). 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 because most people are using at-home tests which are not included in official statistics.

“While there are indications for the potential start of a summer surge, nationally COVID-19 activity remains low,” the CDC said in a statement on Friday. “CDC will continue to monitor to see if these recent increases persist.”

During the past week, cases increased in 26 out of 28 states with consistent but limited data. Notable increases were reported in Virginia (+98%), New Jersey (+62%), Idaho (+59%), Arizona (+32%), Iowa (+30%), Georgia (+27%), Indiana (+26%) and California (+25%).

It’s currently estimated that COVID cases are increasing in 44 states and territories (an increase of 1), declining in 1 state or territory (Hawaii), and stable or uncertain in 5 states and territories. Nationally, COVID test positivity is 8.1%, up from 6.6% last week.

Only 34% of hospitals in the U.S. submitted COVID data this week, which is down from 35% last week and down from 91% in early May. Those limited figures show that at least 2,181 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID, up from 1,768 last week.

474 new COVID deaths were reported during the week, up from last week, when 459 deaths were reported. This marks the 224th week in a row with more than 400 new COVID deaths in the U.S., or nearly 1.2 million during the same period.

So far this year, more than 3.6 million COVID cases have been reported in the U.S., causing 296,706 hospitalizations and 31,641 deaths, according to BNO’s COVID data tracker.

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