The number of COVID-19 deaths per day in the US dropped to its lowest point in more than a year on Sunday, with 222 deaths in the country.
The US dropped the toll of 676 deaths recorded on Saturday according to statistics from Johns Hopkins University. The data show that the number of daily deaths has reached its lowest point since early in the pandemic on March 23, 2020, when 192 deaths were documented.
Sunday’s mortality rate, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), is a decrease from the seven-day average for deaths to Saturday of 804 deaths per day. It decreased from 968 the previous week.
The low mortality rate for Sunday, according to the New York Times, may also reflect different reporting patterns of COVID-19 statistics on the state and county. Johns Hopkins University data usually show a drop in deaths on Saturdays and Sundays.
Only 222 COVID deaths were reported in the US yesterday, the lowest since March 23, 2020. https://t.co/WbBcN2canq pic.twitter.com/FAyvg7tp4Z
– Nate Silver (@ NateSilver538) 5 April 2021
CDC Director Rochelle Walenksy said the seven-day average for deaths had decreased compared to last week’s data during a White House COVID-19 information team.
But she warned that the country was entering its fourth week of ‘increased trends and cases’, including CDC data documenting a seven-day average of about 64,000 cases and 4,970 hospital admissions per day.
The news comes as Walensky has balanced a warning about the risks still looming in the pandemic and expresses encouragement about the progress of the vaccination effort in recent days.
“As we look at this increased number of cases with concern, the good news is that millions of Americans are acting every day to be vaccinated,” she said during Monday’s briefing.
Health officials on Monday celebrated that nearly a quarter of U.S. adults, nearly 60 million, have been fully vaccinated, while 40 percent of adults receive at least one dose.
Last week, Walensky warned of an impending doom as COVID-19 cases climbed if people did not follow health precautions.