What the Drop in Coronavirus Cases Means
Covid-19 cases are down significantly, but there’s still a lot of work to do
The latest data shows that cases of Covid-19 in the United States have been dropping — though they still remain at high levels — and experts say it’s important to embrace some of the learnings of the past couple months and prepare for the fall.
Cases of the coronavirus in the United States increased significantly in June and July before plateauing and then finally dropping — a trend that’s being seen currently, though there continue to be new emerging hot spots in areas like the Midwest. Over the past week, there have been an average of 41,520 cases per day, which is a decrease of 17% from the average two weeks earlier. The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security reports that the United States is continuing to average fewer than 1,000 deaths per day, though the daily total is decreasing very slowly.
These decreases are not seen everywhere, but the states leading the drops have a few notable things in common. As the New York Times recently highlighted, states that are experiencing notable declines in cases have “at least some local mask mandates, and most have paused or reversed statewide reopening policies, again closing bars, gyms, and theaters.” Many of the states with the biggest drops in cases…
