U.S. Covid Deaths Match April Peak With Hospitals Still Filling

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. is now averaging about as many deaths per day from Covid-19 as it was in April when the pandemic ambushed the New York area.

The seven-day average of reported fatalities rose to 2,201 on Sunday, just one shy of the peak on April 18, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Average daily deaths had been predicted in the range of 1,643 to 1,886 through Dec. 26, according to a four-week forecast from the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Reich Lab.

Several large states, including California, New York and Pennsylvania, are facing alarming upward momentum in Covid-19 hospitalizations. It’s likely that reported fatalities will increase further due to the lags between infections, deaths and when the deaths are disclosed.

Indeed, many deaths reported in the past week are still coming out of the Midwest, suggesting the worst numbers are yet to come for the Northeast and West, which are in the throes of viral surges.

Nationally, the U.S. reported 175,578 coronavirus cases Sunday, bringing the seven-day average to a record 196,319, according to Johns Hopkins data. Cumulatively, there have been more than 282,000 deaths.

According to Covid Tracking Project data:

• The number of people hospitalized with the virus in U.S. climbed to a record 101,487.
• New Jersey, West Virginia, Virginia and California posted single-day records in new cases Sunday.

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