Community transmission of COVID remains high in 89.2% of American counties, according to current data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Despite that, the latest wave, driven by the highly contagious and completely dominant Delta variant, appears to have crested, with new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths due to the virus all in decline from levels two weeks ago. (It’s estimated that the Delta variant accounts for 99.9% of U.S. cases.)
Cases and hospitalizations have decreased by roughly 20% in that period, while deaths due to the virus are down 4%, according to New York Times data from Oct. 12. States hit hardest by the Delta variant—especially those with lower vaccination rates in the South—continued to see large decreases in new cases, led by Alabama with a 61.9% decline from two weeks ago. Florida, Hawaii, Mississippi, Tennessee, South Carolina, and South Dakota all saw a greater than 40% decline in new coronavirus cases in that period.