In nearly every state, the estimated peak time of COVID-19 infection date has come and gone, and the spread of the virus continues to show signs of slowing in the United States. The average number of new cases per day fell to about 6 for every 100,000 people between May 26 and June 1 — down from about 7 cases per 100,000 the preceding week. 

Despite the improvement, tens of thousands of Americans are infected by the coronavirus each day — a stark reminder that the threat remains. New cases, however, tend to be concentrated in certain pockets of the country — and in some states, the daily rate of new infections is far higher than in others. 

To determine the states where the number of confirmed cases per capita is growing the fastest right now, 24/7 Wall St. compiled and reviewed the numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths for the seven days through June 1 from state and local health departments. We calculated the average number of new cases per day between May 26 and June 1 in each state for every 100,000 people. For both Connecticut and New Hampshire, the most recently available data is for May 31. 

Many of the states where the virus is spreading the fastest are also among the states that have been the hardest hit since the beginning of the pandemic. States like Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, and Rhode Island have near nation-leading numbers of cases, adjusted for population size — and also rank highly on this list. Here is a full list of the states with the highest number of COVID-19 cases.

Social distancing is the best virus containment tool we have at our disposal until a vaccine becomes available. In recent months, nearly every state imposed stay-at-home orders and other measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus. A handful of states, however, did not implement stay-at-home orders. Nebraska and Iowa, two such states, now rank among the top-10 states where the virus is growing fastest. Here is a state-by-state look at stay at home and social distancing rules.

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