NEW YORK, Sept 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Several states in the US midwest and northeast have seen new COVID-19 cases increase for two weeks in a row, though nationally both new infections and deaths last week remained on a downward trend.
The United States reported more than 287,000 new cases in the week ended Sept 6, down 1.4 per cent from the previous week and marking the seventh straight week of declines. More than 5,800 people died from COVID-19 last week, the third week in a row that the death rate has fallen.
Nevertheless, 17 states have seen cases rise for at least two weeks. They include Missouri, North Dakota and Wisconsin, where between 10 per cent and 18 per cent of people tested had the new coronavirus.
In the Northeast, Delaware, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York also reported increases in new cases for at least two weeks, though the positive test rate ranged from a low of 0.9 per cent in New York to a high of 4.3 per cent in Delaware – below the 5 per cent level the World Health Organization considers concerning.
In some states, testing has increased as schools reopened. New York City, for instance, is testing 10 per cent to 20 per cent of students and staff every month. The University of Illinois is testing students twice a week.
Nationally, the share of all tests that came back positive for COVID-19 fell for a fifth week to 5.5 per cent, well below a peak of nearly 9 per cent in mid-July, according to data from The COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer-run effort to track the outbreak.
The United States tested on average 741,000 people a day last week, up 5 per cent from the prior week, but down from a peak in late July of over 800,000 people a day. — NNN-AGENCIES
