COVID-19 cases are on the decline in the US
In some positive news here in the US (much needed given how the last year has gone and the brutal February weather that a large swath of the country has faced) — COVID-19 cases and deaths have declined significantly in the last few weeks and the outlook is looking more positive. According to the CDC and other data trackers, the 7-day moving average for new cases is now below 100,000 per day, the lowest number in 3 months (though still insanely high). Daily deaths are down from the previous highs of 3,000+ a day, fortunately, and hospitalizations are down 50% over the last month. Here are some reasons why this trend is likely occurring based on what I have read.
First, daily COVID-19 numbers as we were seeing in November through January were unsustainably high and we bound to go down at some point, as obvious and harrowing of an observation that is. It’s difficult to imagine a scenario where things could have been much worse in the US.
Second, vaccinations have continued to occur and millions of people have now received a second and final dose of the vaccine. The vaccines have gone out to some of the most vulnerable populations first, namely healthcare workers and people over 65, and teachers and other essential workers have begun to receive the vaccine. This is great progress, as these populations are in danger the most, and the less bodies the virus has to latch onto and further spread, the better the situation will become.
Third, it generally seems that people in the US are being more careful with social distancing and wearing masks. There is plenty of data and surveys that have tracked this (cell phone movement data after the holidays, for example). In Illinois, at least, more people are wearing masks when walking around it public, and cloth masks are readily avaialble at stores at this point. We as a society struggled with accepting mask wearing for months (and in fairness there was a mask shortage for many months), but we appear much more diligent about it now.
