COVID deaths in the U.S. have reached their highest level since March, with an average of around 1,600 U.S. citizens dying as a result of the disease every day. The southern states of the U.S. continue to be among the hardest hit, according to The New York Times COVID tracker.
The database shows there was a weekly average of 1,648 deaths on Sunday, similar to the figure reached on March 9, when the weekly average was 1,663.
The total number of COVID cases reported thus far in the U.S. stands at almost 42 million, and 677,988 people have died, according to Worldometer. If the weekly average number of deaths per day in the county remains at around 1,600, the total number of COVID deaths could reach 700,000 by early October.
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In terms of deaths per capita, Mississippi is the state currently hit hardest by COVID deaths, at 1.75 per 100,000 people. This translates to an average of around 52 COVID deaths per day.
In terms of daily average deaths, Florida continues to be the state with the highest number at around 350 people per day.
Washington D.C. has the lowest number of average deaths per day, with less than one death every two days, and 0.06 deaths per 100,000 people.
The figures come after vaccination rates in the U.S. increased in the run-up to Labor Day. A person is not considered fully vaccinated until two weeks after their second Pfizer or Moderna shot, or two weeks after their Johnson & Johnson shot.
Mississippi also continues to be one of the U.S. states with the lowest percentage of the population fully vaccinated. Only 40 percent of the population of the state have received two doses of a COVID vaccine. Other states with this percentage of fully vaccinated residents include Wyoming, West Virginia, Alabama, and Idaho.
Vermont leads the country in terms of fully vaccinated citizens, at 68 percent of the population. 54 percent of people in the U.S. are fully vaccinated, with no state yet achieving full vaccination for 70 percent of its occupants.
Though deaths from COVID in the U.S. remain high, the average number of cases has fallen, and hospitalizations have started to level off. Deaths are known to lag cases by up to four weeks. In Mississippii, new COVID cases have reduced by around 37 percent in the last 14 days, with the state reporting around 1,920 new cases per day.
Cases continue to increase in Tennessee, with an average of 6,811 new cases per day—an increase of around 12 percent over the last two weeks. In Ohio, North Dakota, Idaho, and Maine, new COVID cases have risen between 40 and 50 percent over the past 14 days.
A stock image shows a health care worker giving a patient an oxygen mask. Cases and hospitalizations in the U.S. have fallen or began to plateau but deaths remained high. A stock image shows a health care worker giving a patient an oxygen mask. Cases and hospitalizations in the U.S. have fallen or began to plateau but deaths remained high. Getty Images
