The percentage of positive COVID-19 tests rose slightly in the Southeast and Pacific Northwest during the week ending May 23, according to the CDC's weekly COVIDView report.
Four things to know:
1. The national percentage of laboratory specimens testing positive for COVID-19 fell in public, commercial and clinical labs, but the number of positive test results among children continued to increase or remain stable.
2. About 9.8 percent of deaths nationwide were attributed to flu, pneumonia or COVID-19 in the week ending May 23, down from 15.9 percent a week prior. This percentage marks the fifth week of decline and now mirrors death rates seen during the peak of some flu seasons, the CDC said.
3. The cumulative hospitalization rate for all age groups was 73.3 hospitalizations per 100,000 population. The hospitalization rate for black and American Indian/Alaska native patients was about 4.5 times that of white patients. The rate for Latino patients was about 3.5 times that of white patients.
4. Emergency department and outpatient visits for symptoms related to COVID-19 continued to drop in the week ending May 23. Outpatient visits for flu-like illness remained below baseline nationwide.