Covid Cases Fall in All Regions Even as U.S. Faces 400,000 Dead

(Bloomberg) -- After a bruising start to the year, Covid-19 cases are trending down in the U.S. while hospitalizations and daily deaths appear to be nearing a downturn.

An average of 207,456 new cases were identified nationwide over the past seven days, a 16% decline from a week ago, even as testing has climbed. The case decrease was consistent across all regions, with the Midwest seeing its lowest average case count since October. Infections were falling or flat in 46 states and D.C., according to data from the Covid Tracking Project.

At the same time, daily deaths and hospitalizations have begun to inch lower, the latter for the first time in months. The declines are still small, and could easily prove temporary. They also won’t prevent the U.S. from crossing the grim threshold of 400,000 cumulative deaths, which is set to occur Tuesday.

It’s likely still too early to attribute much, if any, of the reversal to vaccine distribution. The U.S. has administered about 14.7 million doses of the vaccine, roughly 4.5 doses per 100 people, according to data tracked by Bloomberg.

The country posted 150,385 Covid-19 cases on Monday, Covid Tracking Project data show. At least 399,111 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

According to Tracking Project data:

• No states reported record cases Monday.
• Arizona has the most residents hospitalized with the virus per capita, at 653 per million.
• Connecticut and Kansas had the most new cases per million, though slowed weekend reporting can distort data.