CDC warns daily COVID-19 cases are rising in some states

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning that daily COVID-19 cases are currently spiking in some Midwest and Southern states as national infections start to plateau and deaths continue to slowly decline. 

The United States, which has now surpassed 6.1 million infections, has been averaging about 41,000 new COVID-19 cases per day for the past week. 

Cases are now plateauing following an initial sharp decline in late July after surges in Sunbelt states saw average daily rates of 66,000. 

Despite the current plateau, new infections are the lowest they have been since late June and have been declining nationally for six straight weeks now. 

Deaths have slowly been declining and are currently averaging at about 860 fatalities per day – the lowest since late July. 

More than 185,000 Americans have now died from COVID-19. 

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. 

Despite cases continuing to decline across the country, the CDC warned on Tuesday that daily infections were starting to rise in some states, particularly in the upper Great Plains, Midwest and South.

The CDC urged Americans to wear masks and continue to social distance. 

The warning comes ahead of the Labor Day holiday weekend. 

Cases have spiked across the US following previous holidays, including Memorial Day and July 4. 

States where COVID-19 cases are currently rising include Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Nebraska and Minnesota. 

In the South, there has been an uptick of daily infections in West Virginia, North Carolina and Alabama.

In Iowa, some of the rises can be linked to the reopening of colleges. Others have stemmed from South Dakota’s annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which drew more than 365,000 people from across the country from August 7 to 16.  

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.  

Meanwhile, Arkansas reported its largest single-day increase in deaths while the number of cases at the University of Arkansas’ Fayetteville campus increased to nearly 400. 

The Department of Health reported 27 new deaths Wednesday, bringing the state’s total to 841. 

The University of Arkansas has been conducting testing on its campus through Thursday, which Dr. Jose Romero, the state’s health secretary, has said will give the state a better sense of the prevalence of the outbreak there. Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he expected more than 1,000 test results from college students to come in over the next week. The state reported 615 new confirmed cases, bringing its total to 62,112.

The steep decline in national cases that had been seen over the last month was 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.

Of the hotspot states driving down the national infection rate, California and Texas implemented statewide mask mandates when out in public.

In the absence of statewide orders, some Florida and Arizona counties have required residents to wear masks.

All four hotspot states shut down bars and all but Florida also forced gyms to close.