Overall, COVID-19 hospitalizations are decreasing nationwide. However, nearly half of states are seeing an increase, according to data tracked by The New York Times.
The nation's daily average for hospitalizations sat just below 28,000 as of Feb. 26, down 6 percent over the last two weeks. At the same time, hospitalizations are up in 21 states and flat in one. Western states are seeing some of the largest increases, including Montana and Wyoming, where the daily averages for hospitalizations have risen 59 percent and 45 percent in the last 14 days, respectively.
Three more updates on COVID-19 and flu:
- The nation's seven-day average for new COVID-19 admissions was 3,504 for the week ending Feb. 21, down about 5 percent from the previous week's average, according to the CDC.
- The national daily average of new COVID-19 cases was nearly about 34,000 as of Feb. 26, down 14 percent in the past two weeks.
- Meanwhile, flu activity continues to fall nationwide, the CDC's latest FluView report shows. The positivity rate was just 1 percent for the week ending Feb. 18. Since October, influenza A strains have driven the majority of cases. While it's not unusual to see influenza B drive a subsequent uptick, there have been no indicators to suggest that will occur, experts told Becker's.