While COVID-19 cases are dropping in many U.S. regions, the Mountain West has been struggling, with Montana, Idaho and Wyoming currently recording some of the nation's highest cases per capita, according to local and state data cited by The New York Times.
As of Oct. 20, Montana is reporting 85 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 over the last seven days, followed by Idaho at 74 per 100,000 and Wyoming at 73. The only state reporting a higher case per capita is Alaska, at 117 per 100,000 residents.
Seven other COVID-19 trends to know:
Cases
1. Nationwide, about half as many new daily COVID-19 cases are being reported as at the start of September, the Times reported Oct. 19.
2. Over the last week, seven-day COVID-19 case averages have risen in 15 states, are flat in four and dropping in 31, according to Oct. 20 data tracked by Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
3. The South is now currently reporting the lowest case rate of any region, followed by the Midwest, West and Northeast, respectively, according to the Times.
Hospitalizations
4. Michigan, New Hampshire, Minnesota and Colorado have the highest COVID-19 hospitalization rates over the last two weeks, as of Oct. 20.
5. Amid the surge, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz recently called upon the state's National Guard to help mitigate hospital staffing shortages.
Deaths
6. As of Oct. 15, the seven-day death average was 1,241, down 13.4 percent from the previous week's average, according to the CDC.
Vaccinations
7. About 66 percent of the U.S. population have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, according to Oct. 19 data from the CDC. About 57 percent are fully vaccinated, with 5.8 percent of those individuals also receiving a booster dose.