At the beginning of today’s Covid-19 briefing, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky spoke of encouraging numbers in the drop in new cases, deaths and hospitalizations, but also offered a note of caution.
“We continue to see trends heading in the right direction, but cases, hospitalizations and deaths remain at very high levels,” Walensky said.
According to Walensky, the new cases have been steadily declining for five weeks, with the current seven-day average falling by 74% from its January 11 peak. Today’s seven-day average, Walensky said, is now at 66,000 cases a day and is comparable to last summer’s peak.
In terms of new hospital admissions, today’s seven-day average of 6,500 marks a 60% drop from the January 9 peak and is the lowest rate of new hospital admissions since last fall.
At 1,900 deaths per day, the seven-day average of deaths fell by 39% from the previous seven-day average, making it the lowest number since December.
However, Walensky remarked: “This seven-day average is offset by the harsh reality that this week we will exceed half a million Covid-19 deaths in the United States, a truly tragic memory of the enormity of this pandemic and the loss that has affected our lives. personal and our communities. “
“As the pandemic moves in the right direction, there is still much to be done,” she added.