Coronavirus cases are trending downward across the United States as the country’s vaccine rollout picks up speed. But despite the large drop in new infections since early this year, the U.S. death rate remains at nearly 1,500 people every day. That number still exceeds the summer peak, when patients filled Sun Belt hospitalsand outbreaks in states that reopened early drove record numbers of cases, though daily deaths nationwide remained lower than the first surge last spring. The number of new reported cases per day remains nearly as high as the summer record.
At the same time, officials in Texas and Mississippi have lifted mask mandates while other states are ending capacity limits on businesses.
Most experts believe that the worst days of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak are behind us. About 66 million Americans have been at least partially vaccinated, and the rate of doses administered has risen to about 2.3 million per day from around 1.2 million per day in late January and continues to grow. Continue reading.