The CDC has rolled out a COVID-19 monitoring tool that weekly exhibits such key indicators as the number of U.S. hospitalizations and test results.
The report, called COVIDView, will update each Friday and also include summaries on COVID-19 outpatient and emergency department visits, deaths and laboratory data.
Four key insights from the data, as of April 4:
1. The report displays the number of visits to outpatient providers and EDs for illnesses with symptoms similar to COVID-19. Visits are compared to the number that is normally seen this time of year.
2. The overall cumulative hospitalization rate associated with COVID-19 is 4.6 per 100,000, with the highest rates in persons 65 years and older and those 50-64 years old.
3. The percentage of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza rose to 8.2 percent, putting it above the 7.2 percent epidemic threshold, or the level of incidence that requires an urgent response.
4. The national percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for COVID-19 is now 16.5 percent at public health laboratories and 8.8 percent at clinical laboratories.