Six states set new highs last week for coronavirus infections recorded in a single day, according to the COVID Tracking Project and state health departments. Wisconsin and North Dakota surpassed records set the previous week.
Why it matters: Dramatic single-day increases have become less frequent as the country's outbreak begins to slow down. But some states are still facing serious spikes and rising hospitalizations.
Records broken:
- Aug. 8: Wisconsin (1,185)
- Aug. 9: Alabama (2,947)
- Aug. 10: Montana (2,575)
- Aug. 11: None
- Aug. 12: Kentucky (1152)
- Aug. 13: Hawaii (354) and North Dakota (201)
- Aug. 14: None
Zoom in: Wisconsin — which has seen record highs almost every week since Axios began tracking in late June — is at nearly 80% hospital capacity, and hospitalizations are steadily rising.
- In Montana, which has also seen near-continuous weekly spikes, hospitalizations have been on a steep incline since early June.
What to watch: Plans recently submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services show that current coronavirus testing is not enough to meet national demand, Axios' Caitlin Owens and Andrew Witherspoon report.
What they're saying: NIAID director Anthony Fauci told PBS NewsHour on Thursday that he expects the U.S. could "be as good [as] back to normal as we possibly can" by the end of 2021 if a coronavirus vaccine becomes widely available.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include COVID Tracking Project (CTP) data, in addition to data taken directly from state health departments. CTP began reporting non-resident cases as part of Alaska's total case count on July 16.
Go deeper: Coronavirus cases skyrocketing among communities of color