Recent data from The Post shows that the national daily average of COVID cases fell at a much slower rate over the past week than the previous one, seeing a drop of just 4 percent to 55,789 as of March 15. The last week also saw the number of states with increasing cases more than triple from seven to 23, with 14 of them witnessing a double-digit percentage point jump in cases over the past seven days. During an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press on March 14, White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci, MD, told host Chuck Todd that the recent drop in cases didn’t necessarily mean that we could put the pandemic behind us just yet. As some states begin to remove mask mandates and restrictions on indoor dining, Fauci warned that if we “spike the ball on the five-yard line,” it would be a tragic mistake. “Even though the decline was steep, we absolutely need to avoid the urge to say, ‘Oh, everything is going great,’” he cautioned. “When you get a plateau at a level around 60,000 new infections per day, there’s always the risk of another surge. And that’s the thing we really want to avoid because we are going in the right direction.” Read on to see which states are now seeing the worst COVID spikes, according to data from The Washington Post, as of March 16, and for more on why we may see another rise in cases nationwide, check out Dr. Fauci Says This Is the Sign That We’ll Have Another COVID Surge. New cases in last seven days per 100,000 people: 160 Percent change in daily cases in last seven days: Up 20 percent New cases in last seven days per 100,000 people: 304 Percent change in daily cases in last seven days: Up 21 percent And for more on places that are creating concern, check out Dr. Fauci Just Said That He’s Worried About COVID in These 2 States. New cases in last seven days per 100,000 people: 109 Percent change in daily cases in last seven days: Up 21 percent New cases in last seven days per 100,000 people: 100 Percent change in daily cases in last seven days: Up 28 percent And for more on when things may be able to go back to normal, This Is When the COVID Pandemic Will Be Completely Over, Experts Say.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb New cases in last seven days per 100,000 people: 129 Percent change in daily cases in last seven days: Up 29 percent New cases in last seven days per 100,000 people: 114 Percent change in daily cases in last seven days: Up 30 percent And for more on when we might be able to ditch our PPE, Dr. Fauci Just Said Exactly When We Won’t Need Masks Anymore. New cases in last seven days per 100,000 people: 137 Percent change in daily cases in last seven days: Up 36 percent New cases in last seven days per 100,000 people: 55 Percent change in daily cases in last seven days: Up 38 percent And for more on the proper way to use PPE, check out If You See This on Your Mask, the FDA Says Toss It Immediately. New cases in last seven days per 100,000 people: 156 Percent change in daily cases in last seven days: Up 42 percent New cases in last seven days per 100,000 people: 1,399 Percent change in daily cases in last seven days: Up 89 percent And for more on what you should hold off on doing even after you’re immunized, check out Don’t Do This Until a Month After Your COVID Vaccine, Experts Warn.
