New insights show that Americans living in 4 key states suffer from the prevalence of COVID-19 infections in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Each week, the CDC produces a map of the United States that shows the rates of other people testing positive for COVID-19 after testing. The percentage of positive cases is then calculated and displayed on a map. Effects are no longer provided for each state, but are recorded as an average for administrative regions.
The findings come as winter intensifies across the country. Colder weather tends to lead to greater spread of viruses and other infections because immunity is lower. A 2020 study found that the Covid-19 virus itself could remain active longer in cold, dry conditions.
Region Seven—an administrative area consisting of Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska—is once again at the top of this chart as it has the highest proportion of COVID-19 diagnoses following testing. That region saw the most cases out of the entire U.S. in last week’s figures, too.
Released on Monday, but covering the week to Dec. 2, the most recent results show that 16. 7 of the tests were positive, out of 6,541 tests conducted. These figures are up 0. 3 percent from last week.
Last week, administrative zones five (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota) and 8 (Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado) recorded COVID-19 diagnoses between 10% and 14. 9% of tests. These regions recorded figures this week.
However, the two spaces have now been joined through a pair of administrative regions that record this percentage of positive tests. This means that more states with higher COVID-19 results have been added to the map.
Administrative area 1 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont) and 3 (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia) are now also recording percentages of between 10 percent and 14.9 percent of tests confirming COVID-19 cases. In the previous week’s figures, all those states had between a 5 percent and 9.9 percent positive-test result rating.
A CDC spokesperson has told Newsweek in the past that fall marks the “typical start of virus breathing season” and said hospitalization rates “may increase” as the winter months approach.
The localized increase in COVID-19 cases over the summer led some personal services, hospital operators, and schools in the U. S. toThe U. S. Department of Health is reintroducing a requirement that visitors wear masks on its sites. Since then, many services have relaxed their mask mandates, though some hospitals in New Jersey later reinstated them in reaction to infection rates.
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