U.S. COVID update (August 25): Second week with more than 1,000 new deaths

The weekly death toll from COVID-19 in the U.S. remained above 1,000 for the second week in a row as a summer wave continued, according to figures collected by BNO News. Cases however appear to have peaked in some areas.

At least 174,455 new cases were reported between August 19 and August 25, up from 169,217 the week before (+3%) and the highest since March 3. 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.

“Seasonal influenza and RSV activity are low nationally, but COVID-19 activity is elevated in many areas,” the CDC said in an update on Friday. “Many areas of the country are continuing to experience increases in COVID-19 activity, though other areas are experiencing declines in COVID-19 activity following increases this summer.”

Emergency department visits and rates of COVID-associated hospitalizations remain at elevated levels, particularly among adults 65+ and children under the age of 2, according to the CDC.

During the past week, cases increased in 18 out of 26 states with consistent but limited data, though most of them showed only modest increases, an indication that the current summer wave is at or near its peak.

Nonetheless, notable increases were reported in Colorado (+76%), Texas (+64%), Tennessee (+30%), Kentucky (+27%), Wisconsin (+22%), Georgia (+21%) and Ohio (+14%). In California, weekly cases dropped by 10%.

It’s currently estimated that COVID cases are rising in 27 states (up from 25 last week), declining or likely declining in 4 states (down from 5), and stable or uncertain in 17 states (unchanged). Nationally, COVID test positivity is 18.0%, slightly down from 18.1% last week.

Only 33% of hospitals in the U.S. submitted COVID data this week, which is down from 33.6% last week and down from 91% in early May. Those limited figures reveal that at least 5,434 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID, up from 5,256 last week.

1,075 new COVID deaths were reported during the week, the second week in a row with more than 1,000 new deaths. It’s also the seventh week in a row with more than 500 new deaths and the 232nd week with more than 400 new deaths.

So far this year, nearly 4.8 million COVID cases have been reported across the U.S., causing at least 340,153 hospitalizations (limited data) and 37,301 deaths, according to BNO’s COVID data tracker.

In other news this week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that households across the U.S. will be eligible to order 4 free COVID tests from late September in preparation for the winter season. Meanwhile, the FDA approved updated vaccines against COVID-19.

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