Eleven U. S. states The U. S. Department of Homeland Security saw a truly extensive increase in coronavirus-related hospitalizations in the last week on record, in the past seven days, according to new maps from the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U. S.
There were 18,119 new COVID-19 admissions across the U.S. in the week ending November 18—an overall rise of 9.7 percent over the previous seven days. These increases were higher in the upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions, as well as parts of New England. At the same time, the prevalence of positive tests has risen in the northern Midwest.
The uptick in hospitalizations is something health officials have expected as we enter the winter months.
Colder weather tends to lead to greater spread of viruses and other infections because immunity is lower. A 2020 study suggests that the COVID virus could remain active longer in cold, dry conditions.
A CDC spokesperson previously told Newsweek that October usually marks the “typical start of the respiratory virus season” and that hospitalization rates “could increase” over the coming months.
COVID-19 hospitalizations have been on the rise since last June before peaking in early September. They then declined slightly before remaining largely solid through October, rising around 15,000 nationally, before starting to rise slightly through November. Levels remain well below the highest peak on record: more than 150,600 patients in the week ending January 15, 2021.
The latest figures, released Sunday, show that North Dakota is experiencing the largest increase in hospitalizations, up 68. 2% from last week.
Connecticut, Massachusetts and Minnesota saw week-on-week increases above 30 percent, while in Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Rhode Island, Ohio and Wyoming hospital admissions for the virus were up by more than 30 percent.
California, Colorado, Hawaii, Louisiana, Michigan, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Utah, Wisconsin, West Virginia and the U. S. territory of Puerto Rico saw an increase of more than 10% from last week.
In other states, the number of hospitalizations was either stable or saw a moderate decrease of less than 10 percent. Alaska and Washington, D.C., were the only two regions to see decreases greater than 20 percent, compared with the week ending November 11.
While the magnitude of the rises in some states might be startling, they represent a relatively low number of hospital admissions. In North Dakota, there were just 74 hospitalizations in a week, out of a total of 15,522 since August 2020.
Nationwide, there has been a 0.1 percent rise in the number of COVID-19 patients occupying intensive-care unit beds, representing the worst cases, which usually require ventilation. Deaths from the virus rose week to week by 8.3 percent.
Localized rises through the summer prompted some private institutions, hospital operators and colleges in the U.S. to reintroduce the requirements for staff or visitors to wear masks while at their sites. Many of the institutions have since relaxed their mask mandates, although some hospitals in New Jersey later brought them back in response to infection rates.
Aleks Phillips is an American journalist for Newsweek founded in London. It focuses on U. S. politics and the environment. He has covered weather updates extensively, as well as healthcare and crime. Aleks joined Newsweek in 2023 from the Daily Express and in the past worked for Chemist and Druggist and Jewish Chronicle. He graduated from the University of Cambridge. Languages: English.
You can reach Aleks by emailing aleks. phillips@newsweek. com.