Covid Cases Are Falling in 46 States, Easing Load on Hospitals

(Bloomberg) -- Covid-19 cases are declining in 46 states, reducing pressure on hospitals that have been fighting the virus for almost a year.

In 42 of those states, the seven-day case average has fallen more than 10% from a week earlier, while the other four had more modest drops, according to Covid Tracking Project data. Overall, the U.S. seven-day average is down 20% from a week ago, to 192,825, because the drop is much greater in some states -- down 39% in Missouri, for instance.

The number of people currently hospitalized with the virus fell to 122,700, the lowest since Dec. 28.

The latest drop follows a wave that raged across the U.S. since at least October. Although the trend is improving, many areas still have dangerous levels of viral prevalence and high hospitalization rates.

Meanwhile, the nation’s vaccine push is still in its infancy, with 17 million doses of the vaccine administered, or 5.23 per 100 people, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker.

More than 406,000 people have died in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University data.

According to Covid Tracking Project:

• Arizona leads the nation in number of people hospitalized with the virus per capita.
• Virginia is the only state to report record cases this week.