COVID-19 test positivity and outpatient visits decreased nationwide in the week ending Jan. 9, according to the CDC's latest COVIDView report published Jan. 15.
As holiday-related reporting delays may skew COVID-19 data, the CDC recommends interpreting the below data with caution.
Four updates:
1. Surveillance: The national percentage of positive COVID-19 specimens was 14.5 percent in the week ending Jan. 9, down from 15.4 percent a week prior. Test positivity decreased in every HHS surveillance region except for New England, which saw an increase over the prior two weeks. Eight regions saw test positivity decrease after two or more weeks of increases.
2. Outpatient activity: The overall percentage of outpatient or emergency department visits remained stable for flu-like symptoms and fell for COVID-19-like symptoms in the week ending Jan. 9. Regionally, these indicators decreased or remained stable in eight regions and rose in two regions: the Midwest and South West/West Coast.
3. Hospitalizations: The cumulative hospitalization rate for all age groups was 364.3 per 100,000 population in the week ending Jan. 9.
4. Mortality: About 17.2 percent of deaths nationwide were attributed to flu, pneumonia or COVID-19 in the week ending Jan. 9. This figure sits above the epidemic threshold of 7 percent.
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