COVID Map Shows States With Higher Case Rates

States across eastern and central America, as well as the northwest, are among those that have a higher prevalence of COVID-19 infections in the most-recent recorded week, maps produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show.

Only two of the federal agency’s administrative regions—covering the Plains and the southwest, as well as Hawaii—had, on average, a prevalence of antigen tests returning positive results of less than 10 percent of those taken in the week ending January 20. However, New England saw the most-elevated proportion of positive tests, figures released on Friday show.

The recent uptick in positive cases and hospitalizations with COVID-19, which now appears to be waning, is something health officials have been expecting during the winter months. Colder weather tends to lead to an increased spread of viruses and other infections as immunity is lower.

The CDC reported that, nationwide, the prevalence was around 10.8 percent of tests undertaken—a 1.2 percent decrease from the previous recorded week. The geographic picture of where positive cases are occurring shows test positivity dropping off for many regions following the holiday period, when travel and social mixing tends to be a factor in the spread of the virus.

Elevated infections of respiratory diseases such as COVID-19 and influenza led some hospitals in states with high population densities to bring in fresh mask mandates toward the end of 2023.

The CDC does not give test positivity percentages for individual states anymore, instead giving them as an average across its administrative regions. Region Two—which includes New York and New Jersey—had an overall prevalence of 14 percent positive tests out of 4,369 taken across the two states, down a marginal 0.9 percent on the prior week.

Region One—comprised by Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont—had a test positivity rate of 12 percent out of 5,729 taken, a decrease of 2.1 percent on the previous week.

By contrast, Region Eight—which covers Colorado, the Dakotas, Montana, Utah and Wyoming—had a rate of positive tests of 8.5 percent, down a percentage point on the prior week; and Region Nine—California, Hawaii, Nevada and New Mexico—had a rate of 7.4 percent, a drop of 5 percent.

All other administrative regions had test positivity rates above 10 percent, though not as high a proportion as Regions One and Two.

The CDC said that the data did not include tests taken at home and added that the results may be subject to change due to delays in testing centers reporting back.

“The data represent laboratory tests performed, not individual people,” the CDC added, as one person may be administered multiple tests in a week. The agency said that the percentage of positive tests “is one of the metrics used to monitor COVID-19 transmission over time and by area.”

Meanwhile, across the U.S., hospitalizations with COVID-19 continued a three-week decline from a seasonal peak between the weeks of December 30 and January 6. Alaska and New Mexico were the only two states to see moderate increases in hospital admissions, of more than 10 percent.