By Adam Martin
Newly reported Covid-19 cases in the U.S. dropped to the lowest level in nearly four months over President’s weekend, and the deaths reported daily declined sharply from a recent increase.
More than 52,000 new cases were reported for Monday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, from 64,938 a day earlier and 89,727 a week earlier. The latest issue was published early Tuesday Eastern Time and could be updated later in the morning.
The number of newly reported cases per day tends to be lower at the beginning of the week, as fewer people are tested during the weekend, which includes Monday’s holiday. Monday’s figure was the lowest since October 18, 2020, representing a drastic reduction from the highest of all time by about 300,000 per day recorded in early January.
Mortality, a backlog indicator that was also lower by the beginning of the week, was at 985 for Monday, according to Johns Hopkins data the lowest number since Nov. 29. The number of daily deaths has increased recently as several states reported data deficits after their records were audited.
According to the Wall Street Journal analysis of Johns Hopkins data, the country’s seven-day moving average of newly reported cases, ironing out irregularities in the data, was at 90,416 for Sunday. The 14-day average was 103,822. When the seven-day average is lower than the 14-day average, as it has been since January 15, this indicates that cases are declining.
According to the Covid Tracking Project, 65,455 people were hospitalized in the U.S. on Monday, the latest daily decline in more than a month.
Logistical challenges hampered the US pandemic response. The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that some states have not yet used many of the millions of rapid tests distributed by the federal government due to logistical hurdles and concerns about accuracy. The first batch of BinaxNOW rapid Covid-19 tests, sent to states in September, are approaching their six-month expiration dates.
In total, more than 27.6 million cases were reported in the U.S., and more than 486,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins data. Worldwide, the number of cases is higher than 109 million, with more than 2.4 million dead.