Daily COVID-19 Cases in US Dip to Lowest Level in Months

A health care worker administers a shot of a COVID-19 vaccine to a woman in Manhattan, New York City, on Jan. 29, 2021. (Mike Segar/Reuters)

The number of new daily COVID-19 infections fell below 100,000 for the first time this year, according to figures published Feb. 7 by Johns Hopkins University.

Newly reported infections dropped to 88,044 from 104,015 on Feb. 6, according to the tally.

Some officials expressed concern about the threat of a new spike in infections due to people congregating on Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 7), as past surges have been reportedly linked to mass gatherings during holidays and other events.

“I’m worried about Super Bowl Sunday, quite honestly. People gather, they watch games together. We’ve seen outbreaks already from football parties,” said Rochelle Walensky, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “So I really do think that we need to watch this and be careful.”

The number of daily deaths due to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus have also fallen sharply in recent days, to 1,276 on Feb. 7, the lowest figure this year, from a historic peak of 5,085 on Feb. 4.

More Americans are making the decision to have their terminally ill loved ones die at home rather than in nursing home and hospice settings amid the pandemic. National hospice organizations are reporting that facilities are seeing double-digit percentage increases in the number of patients being cared for at home. For many families, home seems to be a more preferable setting than the terrifying scenario of saying farewell to loved ones from behind glass or during video calls.

Meanwhile, hospitalizations due to the CCP virus saw their 26th consecutive day of decline on Feb. 7, dropping to 81,439, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

States continue to ramp up vaccinations, with California leading the charge, with nearly 3.7 million people having received at least one dose, according to data from the CDC. Around 59 million doses of Pfizer’s and Moderna’s two-dose vaccines have been distributed in the United States, with just over 41 million doses administered as of Feb. 7.

Texas, second behind California in vaccine rollout, has vaccinated nearly 2.5 million people with at least one dose.

Gov. Gregg Abbott said in a tweet on Feb. 7 that Texas had administered nearly 600,000 vaccines since Feb. 4.

“Thanks to the front-line workers achieving these results,” Abbott wrote. “Always voluntary, never forced.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.