Covid Weighs on Deep South as U.S. Daily Cases Flatten Elsewhere

(Bloomberg) -- Coronavirus is infecting Americans more quickly in areas of the U.S. South, while states in other parts of the country are largely seeing cases flattening or falling.

Alabama, Florida, Texas and Oklahoma all saw their seven-day average of new cases increase more than 10% compared with the prior week, according to Covid Tracking Project data. They’re four of only seven states that reported a significant uptick.

New cases in the South, as defined by the U.S. Census, accounted for 40% of Tuesday’s national caseload. Georgia and Tennessee are the only states that have toppled records for new cases this week.

The Southern surge comes as national figures appear to have reached an inflection point. After climbing for most of December, the seven-day average of new cases rose just 1.9% in the last two weeks, though it may prove temporary in the wake of holiday travel. New coronavirus cases in the Midwest, an earlier center of the surge, have fallen since peaking about a month ago.

Nationally, the U.S. posted 188,614 new Covid-19 cases, Covid Tracking Project data show. There have been at least 322,589 deaths attributed to the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

According to Covid Tracking Project data:

• Alabama had the highest new cases per million people.
• Georgia reported a single-day case record on Tuesday.
• The seven-day averages of patients currently hospitalized with Covid-19 and daily deaths both broke records.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.