Northeast Sees Signs That Covid Hospitalization’s Pace Is Easing

(Bloomberg) -- The pace of Covid-19 hospitalizations in the Northeast is showing some preliminary signs of easing, adding to hopeful indicators in the Midwest, where the latest viral wave began.

In the Northeast, the number of people currently hospitalized with Covid-19 was 21,494 as of Sunday, up 0.8% from a week earlier, the smallest seven-day percentage increase since Sept. 25, according to Covid Tracking Project data.

The trend, which could still worsen again, comes as the virus now rages across the Sun Belt and as many states are fumbling through the first few weeks of the vaccine rollout.

Based on U.S. Census Bureau definitions for each region, hospitalizations are up 6.1% in the past week in the South; up 4% in the West; and down 4.2% in the Midwest.

Even if hospitalizations start to retreat in some areas, they’re still at dangerously high levels. And the pandemic by many measures has never been worse.

The U.S. added 272,087 Covid-19 cases on Sunday, pushing the seven-day average to a record 253,420, according to Johns Hopkins University. As of early Monday, at least 374,572 have died, Johns Hopkins data show.

According to the Covid Tracking Project:

• No states posted record cases on Sunday, but weekends are typically slower reporting periods.
• Arizona leads the nation in people currently hospitalized with the virus per capita, with 685 per million residents.