COVID-19’s effect on health, economy, and transportation has evolved since the health crisis began earlier this year. High case counts have shifted from one part of the country to others. Meanwhile, other data shows how travel and the economy have picked up since spring, but has a way to go to full recovery.
Here are five ways that government data shows how COVID-19 is affecting the nation. (Read the June version here.)
Hotspots for COVID-19 cases shifted from the Northeast in spring to big counties in the South this summer.
In April, the US recorded an average 29,219 new known cases every day. Four states accounted for 49.4% of all cases – New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Illinois. Since June 1, these four states account for 6.1% of all cases.
Since June 1, the US has had an average of 37,596 new cases per day, 28.7% higher than in April. Four different states — Florida, California, Texas, and Arizona — account for 48.2% of all new cases. In the first half of July, during which there was an average of 56,830 reported new cases, these four states accounted for 52.4% of the cases.
This shift is noticeable at the county level as well. Using seven-day averages for new cases as of July 15, 22 of the 30 counties with the most cases were in these four states.
