Special Report

States Where the Virus is Growing the Fastest Right Now

On May 27, the number of coronavirus deaths in the United States topped 100,000. Looking only at national figures, the spread of the novel coronavirus appears to have slowed. Over the last week — from May 19th through May 25th — there were an average of 22,000 new cases per day, or about 6.8 new cases per day nationwide for every 100,000 people, in line with the previous week. 

Although the rate of infection may be slowing across much of the country, tens of thousands of Americans continue to be infected every day. In about half of all states, the number of daily new infections per state resident has increased in the past week.  

To determine the states where the virus is growing the fastest right now, 24/7 Wall St. compiled and reviewed the numbers of new COVID-19 cases and deaths for the seven days through May 25 from state and local health departments. We calculated the seven-day average number of new cases per day between May 19 and May 25 in each state for every 100,000 people.

Many of the states where the virus is spreading the fastest are among the states that have been the hardest hit since the beginning of the pandemic. There are seven states where the average new daily cases per capita over the last week is more than double the national figure — and each of these ranks among the 10 states with the most cumulative diagnoses per capita since the start of the pandemic. Most of these states are densely-populated places in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. Here is a full list of the states with the highest number of COVID-19 cases

However, there are many states that rank outside of the top 10 for daily new cases but in which the new case rate is increasing rapidly. Alabama, for example, had a seven-day rolling average of 275 daily new cases as of May 18. On May 25, that figure had increased by about 50% to 414 daily new cases in the state. 

As many U.S. states continue with plans to ease stay-at-home orders and business closures, health experts are closely monitoring new infection rates in each state to watch for a possible resurgence of the virus. While many states have lifted strict stay-at-home orders, social distancing laws and guidelines are still in effect in much of the country. Here is every state’s rules for staying at home and social distancing.

Click here to see the states where the virus is growing the fastest right now

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