U.S. COVID update (October 14): 70,360 new cases, 1,189 new deaths

More than 70,000 COVID cases and 1,200 new deaths were reported in the U.S. this week, the ninth week in a row with over a thousand deaths, according to figures collected by BNO News. New cases are continuing to drop nationwide in the aftermath of the summer wave.

At least 70,360 new cases were reported between October 7 and October 13, down from 91,800 the week before (-23%). 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.

“Nationally, COVID-19 activity has continued declining in most areas,” the CDC said in an updated statement last Friday. Wastewater levels, laboratory percent positivity, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations are also continuing to decrease nationally.

A new variant, XEC, is currently estimated to comprise approximately 7-16% of new cases in the U.S. This new variant – a recombination from two JN.1 lineage viruses – is being monitored by the CDC even though there’s no known impact on tests, treatments, symptoms or vaccines.

During the past week, cases increased in only one of the 29 states with consistent but limited data, though this single increase (in Colorado) appeared to be the result of data fluctuations, not an actual increase.

The CDC estimates that COVID cases are currently rising in 0 states (unchanged from last week), declining or likely declining in 43 states (down from 45), and stable or uncertain in 4 states (up from 2). Nationally, COVID test positivity is 7.7%, which is down from 11.6% the week before.

Only 32.4% of hospitals in the U.S. submitted COVID data this week, down from 32.8% last week and the lowest since the end of mandatory reporting on May 1. Those limited figures reveal that at least 3,488 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID, down from 4,187 last week. Mandatory reporting is expected to resume next month.

1,189 new COVID deaths were reported during the week, the ninth week in a row with more than 1,000 new deaths. It’s also the 14th week in a row with more than 500 new deaths and the 238th week with more than 400 new deaths.

So far this year, more than 5.7 million COVID cases have been reported across the U.S., causing at least 464,050 hospitalizations (limited data) and 46,321 deaths, according to BNO’s COVID data tracker.

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