The omicron wave continues to infect people across the United States, but the latest trend data continues to show signs of improvement in the Northeast for both cases and hospitalizations.
Nationally, new confirmed Covid-19 cases through Thursday are down almost 5 percent compared to two weeks ago, according to NBC News’ tally, with steep declines in several Northeast and Midwest states. Cases are down 59 percent in New York, 63 percent in New Jersey and 65 percent in Washington, D.C.
Hospitalizations are also trending down in the region and in the neighboring Midwest. New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois and Washington, D.C., have seen the biggest decreases in the past two weeks, with hospitalizations falling by one-quarter or more in each state or area.
The northern Rocky Mountain region is the country’s current hot spot, with case numbers doubling or close to doubling in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana over the past two weeks.
Despite the improvements, Covid cases are still higher than they’ve been at any previous point of the pandemic. And according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 99 percent of counties in the country have high levels of Covid community transmission, as determined by new case and Covid test positivity rates.
