As of March 10, 2023, the state with the highest rate of COVID-19 cases was Rhode Island followed by Alaska. Around 103.9 million cases have been reported across the United States, with the states of California, Texas, and Florida reporting the highest numbers of infections.

From an epidemic to a pandemic The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic on March 11, 2020. The term pandemic refers to multiple outbreaks of an infectious illness threatening multiple parts of the world at the same time; when the transmission is this widespread, it can no longer be traced back to the country where it originated. The number of COVID-19 cases worldwide is roughly 683 million, and it has affected almost every country in the world.

The symptoms and those who are most at risk Most people who contract the virus will suffer only mild symptoms, such as a cough, a cold, or a high temperature. However, in more severe cases, the infection can cause breathing difficulties and even pneumonia. Those at higher risk include older persons and people with pre-existing medical conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, and lung disease. Those aged 85 years and older have accounted for around 27 percent of all COVID deaths in the United States, although this age group makes up just two percent of the total population

All data is provisional and subject to change The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Count Positive Rate is updated weekly - includes : Week ending, Tests in prior 14 days, 14 day test rate per 100K, Percent Positivity in prior 14 days, Percent Positive in prior 7 days, and Notes Source: Testing data: HHS Unified Testing Dataset; Population data: 2019 Census Rates of county positivity COVID-19 Viral (RT-PCR) Laboratory 14-Day Test Positivity Rates, by US County Documentation: The data presented represent viral COVID-19 laboratory diagnostic and screening test (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, RT-PCR) results and exclude antibody and antigen tests. COVID-19 Electronic Lab Reporting (CELR) state health department-reported data are used to describe county-level viral COVID-19 laboratory test (RT-PCR) result totals when information is available on patients’ county of residence or healthcare providers’ practice location. HHS Protect laboratory data (provided directly to Federal Government from public health labs, hospital labs, and commercial labs) are used otherwise. Some states did not report on certain days, which may affect the total number of tests resulted and positivity rate values. Total viral (RT-PCR) laboratory tests are the number of tests performed, not the number of individuals tested. Viral (RT-PCR) laboratory test positivity rate is the number of positive tests divided by the total number of tests performed and resulted. Resulted tests are assigned to a timeframe based on this hierarchy of test-related dates: 1. test date; 2. result date; 3. specimen received date; 4. specimen collection date. Resulted tests are assigned to a county based on a hierarchy of test-related locations: 1. patient residency; 2. provider facility location; 3. ordering facility location; 4. performing organization location. Special Note: During the week of Sept 14, 2020, the following updates were made to the county percent test positivity characterization methodology. In order to use a greater amount of data to calculate percent test positivity and improve the stability of values, the indicator was expanded to include 14 days of data instead of 7 days. Further, because there are instances where counties with high test positivity rates may reflect low testing levels rather than high levels of viral transmission, additional criteria were added to re-assign counties with low testing volume to lower nursing home staff testing tiers (i.e., communities with low levels of testing and high test positivity (>10%) are reassigned to either yellow or green testing tiers). Nursing homes may set their testing frequency based on the color-coded reassigned positivity classification. Counties that are classified as gray have not submitted testing data for this time period. Please refer to the state COVID-19 website for data on gray counties.: During the week of Sept 14, 2020, the following updates were made to the county percent test positivity characterization methodology. In order to use a greater amount of data to calculate percent test positivity and improve the stability of values, the indicator was expanded to include 14 days of data instead of 7 days. Further, because there are instances where counties with high test positivity rates may reflect low testing levels rather than high levels of viral transmission, additional criteria were added to re-assign counties with low testing volume to lower nursing home staff testing tiers (i.e., communities with low levels of testing and high test positivity (>10%) are reassigned to either yellow or green testing tiers). Nursing homes may set their testing frequency based on the color-coded reassigned positivity classification. Counties that are classified as gray have not submitted testing data for this time period. Please refer to the state COVID-19 website for data on gray counties. Background on Virus: About the Disease: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory illness that is spreading from person to person in parts of the United States. The risk of infection with COVID-19 is higher for people who are close contacts of someone known to have COVID-19, for example healthcare workers, or household members. Other people at higher risk for infection are those who live in or have recently been in an area with an ongoing spread of COVID-19. The virus spreads mainly between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet) through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It also may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.

For more information about Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the City of Austin visit our main page at https://austintexas.gov/covid19. This data will be updated daily. To view the case count for the State of Texas, visit Texas DSHS https://www.dshs.state.tx.us/coronavirus/. Please call 3-1-1 (512-974-2000) with questionsLTCF Dashboard (Desktop Version) | LTCF Dashboard (Mobile Version) Download Public Data from the COVID19 Hub: https://atc-covid19data-austin.hub.arcgis.com/

As of March 10, 2023, the state with the highest number of COVID-19 cases was California. Almost 104 million cases have been reported across the United States, with the states of California, Texas, and Florida reporting the highest numbers.

From an epidemic to a pandemic The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2020. The term pandemic refers to multiple outbreaks of an infectious illness threatening multiple parts of the world at the same time. When the transmission is this widespread, it can no longer be traced back to the country where it originated. The number of COVID-19 cases worldwide has now reached over 669 million.

The symptoms and those who are most at risk Most people who contract the virus will suffer only mild symptoms, such as a cough, a cold, or a high temperature. However, in more severe cases, the infection can cause breathing difficulties and even pneumonia. Those at higher risk include older persons and people with pre-existing medical conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, and lung disease. People aged 85 years and older have accounted for around 27 percent of all COVID-19 deaths in the United States, although this age group makes up just two percent of the U.S. population

As of November 11, 2022, almost 96.8 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the United States. The pandemic has impacted all 50 states, with vast numbers of cases recorded in California, Texas, and Florida.

The coronavirus in the U.S. The coronavirus hit the United States in mid-March 2020, and cases started to soar at an alarming rate. The country has performed a high number of COVID-19 tests, which is a necessary step to manage the outbreak, but new coronavirus cases in the U.S. have spiked several times since the pandemic began, most notably at the end of 2022. However, restrictions in many states have been eased as new cases have declined.

The origin of the coronavirus In December 2019, officials in Wuhan, China, were the first to report cases of pneumonia with an unknown cause. A new human coronavirus – SARS-CoV-2 – has since been discovered, and COVID-19 is the infectious disease it causes. All available evidence to date suggests that COVID-19 is a zoonotic disease, which means it can spread from animals to humans. The WHO says transmission is likely to have happened through an animal that is handled by humans. Researchers do not support the theory that the virus was developed in a laboratory.

As of January 23, 2021, Vermont had the highest Rt value of any U.S. state. The Rt value indicates the average number of people that one person with COVID-19 is expected to infect. A number higher than one means each infected person is passing the virus to more than one other person.

Which are the hardest-hit states? The U.S. reported its first confirmed coronavirus case toward the end of January 2020. More than 28 million positive cases have since been recorded as of February 24, 2021 – California and Texas are the states with the highest number of coronavirus cases in the United States. When figures are adjusted to reflect each state’s population, North Dakota has the highest rate of coronavirus cases. The vaccine rollout has provided Americans with a significant morale boost, and California is the state with the highest number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered.

How have other nations responded? Countries around the world have responded to the pandemic in varied ways. The United Kingdom has approved three vaccines for emergency use and ranks among the countries with the highest number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered worldwide. In the Asia-Pacific region, the outbreak has been brought under control in New Zealand, and the country’s response to the pandemic has been widely praised.