Coronavirus US: Infections total hits 6m with 40k a day average

Coronavirus infections across the United States are now averaging 40,000 per day as the total number of cases nears 6 million and states across the Midwest report an uptick in cases.

The country is now averaging just over 40,000 new COVID-19 infections a day for the first time since late June. 

Deaths across the US are also declining and are currently averaging at 925 fatalities per day. 

More than 183,000 Americans have now died from COVID-19 and the number of confirmed cases was expected to surpass 6 million on Monday.   

Deaths, which had been plateauing nationally for about three weeks before dropping, are a lagging indicator and can potentially rise several weeks after new cases start to decline. 

While still high, the current daily death rate in the US remains below levels seen in April when an average of 2,000 people were dying per day from COVID-19. 

The month-long national decline in cases is due mainly to the significant drop off in the hotspot states of California, Arizona, Florida and Texas after infections peaked there in mid-July.

The hotspot states, as well as others with high infections rates across the country, all implemented mitigation measures around July in a bid to stop the spread of the virus. 

A large portion of the new COVID-19 cases are still coming from these hotspot states.    

In addition to cases and deaths declining across the country, metrics on new hospitalizations and the positivity rates of tests are also dropping nationally. 

There are, however, emerging hotspots in the Midwest with Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota recently reporting record one-day spikes in new cases.

Montana and Idaho are currently seeing record numbers of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. 

Many of the new cases in Iowa are in the counties that are home to the University of Iowa and Iowa State University, which are holding some in-person classes. 

Colleges and universities around the country have seen outbreaks after students returned to campus, which has forced some of them to switch to online-only learning.  

Iowa reported a record single day spike of more than 1,500 cases last Thursday. 

Across the Midwest, infections have also risen after the annual Sturgis Motorcycle rally in South Dakota that drew more than 365,000 people from across the country between August 7 to 16. 

The South Dakota health department said 88 cases in the state have been traced to the rally. 

South Dakota reported a record 425 new cases on Saturday, which is up from the 149 daily infections reported a month earlier. 

Neighboring North Dakota reported a record 374 cases on Saturday – up from the 86 infections recorded exactly one month earlier. 

More than eight months into the pandemic, the number of people being tested for COVID-19 has fallen in recent weeks.  

Many health officials and at least 33 states have rejected the new COVID-19 testing guidance issued by the Trump administration last week that said those exposed to the virus and without symptoms may not need testing. 

Public health officials believe the United States needs to test more frequently to find asymptomatic COVID-19 carriers to slow the spread of the disease.

While the US has the most recorded infections in the world, it ranks tenth based on cases per capita, with Brazil, Peru and Chile having higher rates of infection.

The US also has the most deaths in the world at nearly 183,000 and ranks 11th for deaths per capita, exceeded by Sweden, Brazil, Italy, Chile, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Peru.