Four updates:
1. Mortality: About 10.7 percent of deaths nationwide were attributed to flu, pneumonia or COVID-19 in the week ending Nov. 14. This figure marks a decline from the week prior but is still above the epidemic threshold, which hovers at 6 percent.
2. Surveillance: The national percentage of positive COVID-19 specimens was 11.9 percent in the week ending Nov. 14, up from 10.8 percent a week prior. Test positivity increased among all age groups and in nine of 10 HHS surveillance regions. This figure decreased in the Central region.
3. Outpatient activity: All 10 regions reported an increase in the percentage of outpatient visits for COVID-19-like symptoms in the week ending Nov. 14. Four regions — New Jersey/New York/Puerto Rico, Mid-Atlantic, South West/West Coast and Pacific Northwest — also saw a jump in visits for flu-like illness.
4. Hospitalizations: The cumulative hospitalization rate for all age groups increased to 228.7 per 100,000 population in the week ending Nov. 14. This rate has increased among all age groups since mid-September. The hospitalization rate for adults 65 and over is also nearing peak figures seen this April, the CDC said.
More articles on public health:
‘Nothing tastes as good as safety feels’: Traditional Thanksgiving out for many epidemiologists
UW Health’s open letter to residents: ‘We are, quite simply, out of time’
COVID-19 death rates by state: Nov. 23
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