New York Trails Only Arizona in Hospitalized Covid Patients

(Bloomberg) -- Covid-19 hospitalizations in New York are declining, but the improvement has been much slower than in other former hot spots. The upshot: New York now finds itself as the second-worst jurisdiction in America, behind only Arizona.

The Empire State has 410 people per million residents hospitalized with the virus, down 14% from Jan. 20, the latest peak, according to Covid Tracking Project data. Arizona and Georgia, also hit hard, have seen their numbers drop by 29% and 27%, respectively.

New York's Covid-19 hospitalizations took a temporary leap earlier this week. Mayor Bill de Blasio hypothesized that the numbers were briefly suppressed by Monday's snow storm before rising once people could get to the hospital more easily.

The U.S. posted 121,871 new Covid-19 cases Thursday, sending the seven-day average to the lowest since Nov. 10, according to Johns Hopkins University data. There have been nearly 456,000 deaths, the data show.

According to Covid Tracking Project data:

• The seven-day average of new cases is declining in all four U.S. Census Bureau regions, as are hospitalizations.
• Nationally, the seven-day average of new tests fell to the lowest since Jan. 7.

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