The Southern U.S. and West Coast had the highest percentage of specimens testing positive for COVID-19 in the week ending July 11, according to the CDC's weekly COVIDView report.
Four updates:
1. Surveillance: Nationwide, the percentage of laboratory specimens testing positive for COVID-19 decreased slightly. However, four of 10 HHS surveillance regions saw an increase in the percentage of positive specimens: the Midwest, Central, Mountain and New York/New Jersey/Puerto Rico regions. The remaining regions reported stable or decreasing percentages of specimens testing positive for COVID-19.
2. Mortality: About 6.4 percent of deaths nationwide were attributed to flu, pneumonia or COVID-19 in the week ending July 11, down from 8.1 percent a week prior. This percentage marked the 12th week of decline.
3. Hospitalizations: The cumulative hospitalization rate for all age groups increased to 113.6 hospitalizations per 100,000 population. Hospitalizations increased over the two-week period ending July 4, representing the first multiple-week increase since early April.
4. Outpatient activity: Emergency department and outpatient visits for symptoms related to COVID-19 remained below baseline nationwide. Seven regions saw an increase in visits for COVID-19-like symptoms, which may be due to changes in healthcare seeking behavior after the July Fourth holiday, the CDC said.