New Covid Cases On The Decline From Post-Holiday Highs

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Hospitalizations Down For 15th Day In A Row 
The U.S. saw further declines in the number of people hospitalized because of Covid-19, while newly reported cases hovered around 150,000 for the third day in a row. Hospitalizations, which totaled 107,444 as of Wednesday, have been on the decline since Jan. 12 when the figure was at 131,326, according to the Covid Tracking Project. The number of people in intensive care units also fell slightly to 20,497. (Hall, 1/28)

Axios: Coronavirus Cases Fall In 41 States
New coronavirus infections fell by 16% over the past week — the third straight week of significant improvement. Yes, but: The U.S. is still averaging roughly 165,000 new cases per day, meaning the virus is still spreading largely unchecked. And the rise of more contagious variants will ensure that Americans’ risk remains high. (Baker and Witherspoon, 1/28)

Bloomberg: Covid Cases Drop Most In U.S. West, But Relief May Be Brief
In the span of two weeks, states in the U.S. West pushed down coronavirus case averages by 43%, outstripping the decline in other regions, which all have seen numbers retreat from peaks this month. Almost every state in the West reported cases falling or flat Tuesday, and every region in the country has seen its seven-day average drop at least 20% since Jan. 12, according to data from the Covid Tracking Project. Some states, like California and Oregon, had numbers drop by more than a third in the course of a week. Such improvements inspired California Governor Gavin Newsom to ease social-distancing measures earlier this week. The relaxed policies, combined with more-contagious strains gaining traction in the state, could lay the groundwork for numbers to spike again. (Querolo, 1/27)

KHN: New Covid Cases Plunge 25% Or More As Behavior Changes 
A dozen states are reporting drops of 25% or more in new covid-19 cases and more than 1,200 counties have seen the same, federal data released Wednesday shows. Experts say the plunge may relate to growing fear of the virus after it reached record-high levels, as well as soaring hopes of getting vaccinated soon. Nationally, new cases have dropped 21% from the prior week, according to Department of Health and Human Services data, reflecting slightly more than 3,000 counties. Corresponding declines in hospitalization and death may take days or weeks to arrive, and the battle against the deadly virus rages on at record levels in many places. (Jewett, 1/28)

In related news —

The Guardian: 'Have We Learned Nothing?' California Faces Backlash For Lifting Stay-Home Order 
California’s decision to lift its stay-at-home order is drawing backlash from health experts and frontline workers who warn that a premature reopening could prolong the crisis and further devastate hard-hit communities. Citing projections that hospital capacity would improve in coming weeks, the governor, Gavin Newsom, announced Monday that he was rescinding the statewide shutdown order. The move returned counties to a tiered system of localized reopenings and allowed certain sectors to partially resume business, including salons, restaurants and churches. (Levin, 1/27)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus Cases Among L.A. Firefighters Drop Sharply
The number of Los Angeles firefighters testing positive for the coronavirus has dropped significantly since the city fire agency began offering its members vaccinations, Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas said in a memo to firefighters this week. In the memo dated Tuesday and obtained by The Times, Terrazas said the Los Angeles Fire Department has seen a “sharp decline” in cases since firefighters started getting the shots Dec. 28. A chart included with the memo shows that the LAFD was averaging more than 15 new cases a day before the vaccination program. The number soon plummeted. In the most recent week, the department has averaged fewer than five new cases a day. (Smith and Welsh, 1/27)

Scientific American: COVID-Overwhelmed Hospitals Strain Staff And Hope To Avoid Rationing Care 
The first Monday of 2021, Nancy Blake says, "was the worst day I've ever seen." Blake is the chief nursing officer at Harbor–University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center. She looked at the intensive care unit, which had twice the number of patients as standard critical care beds. Noncritical patients were lined up in gurneys in the hallways. At other hospitals in the area, ambulances were waiting for eight to 12 hours to move patients into beds. Most of those people had COVID. And still today, Blake continues, “patients keep coming and keep coming and keep coming.” The staff is keeping up quality care, but she worries there may not be enough hands to take care of all of those who are seriously ill. “It’s been pretty stressful,” she says. Every day she looks at her coworkers and sees “the moral distress in the faces.” (Harmon Courage, 1/27)

The Hill: CDC Projects US Could See Up To 514K Coronavirus Deaths By Feb. 20 
The United States is projected to record as many as 514,000 deaths from the coronavirus by Feb. 20 based on the country's current trajectory, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Wednesday. Speaking at the Biden administration's first formal public health briefing on the pandemic, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the agency predicts the country is on pace for between 479,000 and 514,000 COVID-19 deaths by Feb. 20. (Samuels, 1/27)