U.S. COVID update (July 14): Cases continue to rise in most states

Many parts of the U.S. are seeing substantial increases in COVID-19 activity, with notable upticks in Florida, Ohio and New Jersey, according to statistics collected by BNO News. COVID levels this summer are higher compared to last year.

At least 120,934 new cases were reported between July 8 and July 14, up from 90,738 the week before (+33%). 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.

“Many areas of the country are experiencing consistent increases in COVID-19 activity,” the CDC said in a statement on Friday. “COVID-19 test positivity, emergency department visits, and rates of COVID-19–associated hospitalizations are increasing, particularly among adults 65+ and in western states.”

While cases have increased noticeably, the CDC notes that this follows a period in May when COVID levels were the lowest since the pandemic began. “CDC will continue to closely monitor trends in COVID-19 activity,” the agency said.

During the past week, cases increased in 18 out of 24 states with consistent but limited data. Notable increases were reported in Florida (+108%), Ohio (+76%), Maine (+57%), Utah (+33%), Michigan (+32%), New Jersey (+32%), Virginia (+31%), New York (+22%), California (+21%) and Arizona (+15%). Some may be affected by backlogs from the 4th of July.

It’s currently estimated that COVID cases are increasing in 45 states and territories (an increase of 6), declining in 0 states or territories (unchanged), and stable or uncertain in 3 states and territories (a decrease of 11). Nationally, COVID test positivity is 11%, up from 9% last week.

Only 34% of hospitals in the U.S. submitted COVID data this week, which is similar to last week but down from 91% in early May. Those limited figures show that at least 2,920 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID, up from 2,551 last week.

540 new COVID deaths were reported during the week, up from 407 last week and the highest since early May. This marks the 226th 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 3.8 million COVID cases have been reported in the U.S., causing 304,772 hospitalizations and 32,588 deaths, according to BNO’s COVID data tracker.

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