The number of new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations across the country continued to decline last week – although the death toll remains high, according to reports.
Cases fell 17 percent in the week through January 27, while hospitalizations for COVID-19 fell 10 percent, according to the COVID Screening Project.
He marked the second consecutive week of falls in both categories.
But the number of deaths from the virus remains at numbers not seen before this month – an increase of 7 percent last week, with another 22,797 deaths reported.
However, deaths tend to lag behind falls in cases and hospitalizations.
“Even with the cases falling in the US, we may have another week or more of very high mortality figures ahead,” said the researchers behind the project.
In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday that the seven-day positivity average for COVID-19 tests has declined for the 23rd consecutive day at Empire State.
“We are dealing with a wave of holidays driven by increased social activity,” said Cuomo in a statement. “The increase is slowing.”
“In the here and now the news is very good, but keep an eye out for the UK variants and the others because they all suggest that more diligence will be needed,” he said.
More contagious mutations or variants of the virus have emerged in the UK and South Africa – and both have already been detected in patients in the United States.
Despite the positive glow, Cuomo also said on Saturday that the black cloud of the pandemic remains over the state – the overall rate of positivity in New York increased from the previous day, from 4.65% to 4.75%.
Health experts also warn that a reduction in testing in recent weeks may be creating a false drop in the number of new cases, the screening project said.
As of Sunday, the United States has recorded more than 26 million cases and 440,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.