Special Report
States Where the Virus Is Growing the Fastest Right Now
June 16, 2020 5:30 pm
Last Updated: June 18, 2020 2:36 pm
As all U.S. states have partially or entirely opened their economies and eased social distancing restrictions, many Americans may be starting to feel a sense of relief that things are returning to normal. A number of states, however, primarily in the South and Southwest, have seen a sharp spike in the number of new cases. In Arizona, the number of daily new cases more than doubled in two weeks to more than 1,000 per day.
In its latest updated projection, released June 12, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that the number of COVID-19 deaths will rise to between 124,000 and 140,000 by July 4. Just under 100,000 Americans had died by the end of May. As of mid-June, the number of U.S. deaths has already exceeded 116,000.
Since the start of the crisis, the states where COVID-19 has been spreading the fastest have changed substantially. New York, which at one point reported the most daily new cases per 100,000 people, now has fewer daily new cases per capita than the majority of states. In states like New Jersey, New York, and Maryland, the number of daily new cases has fallen by hundreds since the end of May. Meanwhile, on June 14, a dozen states, including Arizona, Arkansas, and South Carolina, recorded their highest trailing seven-day average of daily new cases since at least the end of April.
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 14 from state and local health departments. The exceptions are Oklahoma and Oregon, for which data is through June 12, and Connecticut and South Carolina, for which data is through June 13. Here is a full list of the states with the highest numbers of COVID-19 cases. We calculated the average number of new cases per day between June 8 and June 14 in each state for every 100,000 people.
During the peak of the pandemic, 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. Arkansas, Iowa, and Utah, three such states, now rank among the states with the highest average daily number of new cases per capita. Here is a state-by-state look at every state’s rules for reopening and social distancing.
Click here to see the states where the virus is growing the fastest right now
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