As holiday-related reporting delays may skew COVID-19 data, the CDC recommends interpreting the data below with caution.
Four updates:
1. Surveillance: The national percentage of positive COVID-19 specimens was 11 percent in the week ending Jan. 23, down from 12 percent a week prior. Test positivity decreased in every HHS surveillance region and among all age groups for the second consecutive week.
2. Outpatient activity: The overall percentage of outpatient or emergency department visits decreased for COVID-19-like symptoms in the week ending Jan. 23 and remained stable for flu-like symptoms. Regionally, all 10 regions reported a decline in COVID-19-related visits, and eight regions reported a stable or decreasing level of visits for flu symptoms.
3. Hospitalizations: The cumulative hospitalization rate for all age groups was 403 per 100,000 population in the week ending Jan. 23.
4. Mortality: About 14.8 percent of deaths nationwide were attributed to flu, pneumonia or COVID-19 in the week ending Jan. 23. This figure sits above the epidemic threshold of 7.1 percent.
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