US COVID-19 Update: States with the Highest Virus Activity

Several states across the Midwest, Northeast, and South have seen an increase in COVID-19 deaths and test positivity rates over the past week. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Minnesota and Kentucky experienced the most significant spikes in COVID-related fatalities.

From January 11 to January 16, the CDC recorded 445 COVID-19 deaths nationwide, slightly up from 406 deaths in the previous week. Ten states fell into the highest provisional death percentage bracket (2%–3.9%) during this period. Minnesota reported 3.7% of deaths attributed to COVID-19, reflecting a 94.7% surge from the prior week, while Kentucky followed at 3.6%, marking a 71.4% increase.

Other states in this category included Mississippi (3.2%), Massachusetts (3%), Tennessee (2.8%), Pennsylvania (2.5%), New Jersey (2.5%), Maryland (2.4%), Michigan (2.2%), and New York (2%). Among them, Massachusetts recorded the most significant jump in COVID-19-related deaths, with a 114.3% increase compared to the previous week.

Regarding test positivity rates, CDC data highlighted that ‘Region 5’—comprising Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio—had the highest percentage of positive tests at 8.9%, based on a sample size of 33,910. Meanwhile, ‘Region 7,’ which includes Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, and Missouri, recorded the second-highest positivity rate at 7.4%.

Global COVID-19 Trends: Russia Leads in New Cases

On a global scale, COVID-19 cases remain a concern. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported 25,306 new cases worldwide in the seven-day period ending on January 5, based on the most recent available data. Russia accounted for the highest number, with 10,021 reported cases. Greece followed with 2,816 cases, while France and Italy reported 2,363 and 1,505 cases, respectively.

During the same period, WHO recorded 790 COVID-related deaths globally.