Average Daily COVID Cases Are Highest in These 4 States

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The seven-day average of coronavirus cases in the U.S. surpassed 200,000 on Sunday. The average count has been rising sharply since early October, according to data compiled by Worldometer.

Here we look at four states that reported the highest average daily cases per 100,000 people in the last seven days, according to the latest report Sunday from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Case data below is from Johns Hopkins University and the CDC, while the population data is from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Rhode Island

  • Average daily cases per 100,000 in last 7 days: 110.6
  • Total confirmed cases: 62,137
  • Total population: 1,059,361

The seven-day average of cases in Rhode Island has been rising sharply since early October, peaking last week on December 3 at 1,364, the state's highest level recorded since the outbreak began. The figure declined from late April and flattened out from early June, according to data compiled by JHU.

Minnesota

  • Average daily cases per 100,000 in last 7 days: 105
  • Total confirmed cases: 350,862
  • Total population: 5,639,632

The average case count in Minnesota statistically declined in a recent two-week period from November 22 to December 5. However, the figure has been rising sharply since mid-September, peaking on November 17 at 7,052, the state's highest average tally since the outbreak began, according to JHU.

South Dakota

  • Average daily cases per 100,000 in last 7 days: 100.5
  • Total confirmed cases: 85,991
  • Total population: 884,659

The seven-day average of cases in South Dakota statistically increased in the latest 14-day period. However, the figure has declined from November 11 when it reached 1,458, the state's highest level since the outbreak began. It remained flat from early April before rising sharply from late August to early November, according to JHU.

Wyoming

  • Average daily cases per 100,000 in last 7 days: 99.2
  • Total confirmed cases: 36,218
  • Total population: 578,759

The average daily case tally in Wyoming statistically decreased in the latest two-week period. However, the figure has been rising sharply since early September, after flattening out for months since late March. The figure peaked on November 20 when it hit 891, the state's highest average count since the outbreak began, according to JHU.

Daily cases to surpass over a million by early January

Daily infections in the country are projected to reach around 573,132 on Monday, around 832,688 by Christmas and over a million by January 10 if "vaccine distribution is scaled up over 90 days" and "governments do not re-impose mandates if cases increase," according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington.

Minnesota COVID-19 lockdown protest December 2020
People protesting coronavirus lockdown measures in St Paul, Minnesota on December 5. Minnesota is among the four states that reported the highest average daily cases per 100,000 people in the last seven days, according to... Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

The wider picture

The novel coronavirus has infected more than 67.1 million people, including over 14.7 million in the U.S., since it was first reported in Wuhan, China.

More than 1.5 million people have died worldwide and over 43.1 million have recovered as of Monday, according to JHU.

The graphic below, provided by Statista, shows the distribution of COVID-19 deaths among the U.S. population.

COVID-19 elderly patients in U.S.
STATISTA

The graphic below, produced by Statista, shows the number of current COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S.

hospitalization graphic
Statista

About the writer

Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in travel, health, home/interior design and property/real estate. Soo covered the COVID-19 pandemic extensively from 2020 to 2022, including several interviews with the chief medical advisor to the president, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Soo has reported on various major news events, including the Black Lives Matter movement, the U.S. Capitol riots, the war in Afghanistan, the U.S. and Canadian elections, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Soo is also a South Korea expert, covering the latest K-dramas—including the breakout hit Squid Game, which she has covered extensively, including from Seoul, the South Korean capital—as well as Korean films, such as the Golden Globe and Oscar-nominated Past Lives, and K-pop news, to interviews with the biggest Korean actors, such as Lee Jung-jae from Squid Game and Star Wars, and Korean directors, such as Golden Globe and Oscar nominee Celine Song. Soo is the author of the book How to Live Korean, which is available in 11 languages, and co-author of the book Hello, South Korea: Meet the Country Behind Hallyu. Before Newsweek, Soo was a travel reporter and commissioning editor for the award-winning travel section of The Daily Telegraph (a leading U.K. national newspaper) for nearly a decade from 2010, reporting on the latest in the travel industry, from travel news, consumer travel and aviation issues to major new openings and emerging destinations. Soo is a graduate of Binghamton University in New York and the journalism school of City University in London, where she earned a Masters in international journalism. You can get in touch with Soo by emailing s.kim@newsweek.com . Follow her on Instagram at @miss.soo.kim or X, formerly Twitter, at @MissSooKim .Languages spoken: English and Korean


Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in Read more