US hits highest seven-day average for virus cases

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Just days before the U.S. elects its next president, the country is dealing with its highest number of average COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, according to statistics from the New York Times.

New numbers show daily cases in the country averaging 69,000 in the last 14 days and continuing to grow. That figure surpasses the country's second peak in mid-July.

On top of that, hospitalizations have increased by 40% in the last month, with some 41,000 people hospitalized. Additionally, deaths are slowly beginning to creep up, with a 12% increase seen over the last 14 days.

As this happened, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told CNN, "We’re not going to control the pandemic."

Pressed to explain why the pandemic cannot be reined in, he told CNN's "State of the Union," “Because it is a contagious virus just like the flu.”

“We’re not going to control the pandemic. We are going to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigation areas,” Meadows said, noting they're trying to contain it.

As the nation experiences this third peak in confirmed cases, here's a look at the states that are seeing the highest percentage increases in COVID-19 cases:

States seeing case increases (by percentage):

1. New Mexico - Average of 725 cases per day, an increase of 103% from the average two weeks earlier.
2. Rhode Island - Average of 347 cases per day, an increase of 99% from the average two weeks earlier.
3. Michigan - Average of 2,311 cases per day, an increase of 98% from the average two weeks earlier.
4. Connecticut - Average of 460 cases per day, an increase of 85% from the average two weeks earlier.
5. Colorado - Average of 1,420 cases per day, an increase of 85% from the average two weeks earlier.
6. Wyoming - Average of 288 cases per day, an increase of 82% from the average two weeks earlier.
7. Wisconsin - Average of 4,752 cases per day, an increase of 80% from the average two weeks earlier.
8. Illinois - Average of 4,456 cases per day, an increase of 76% from the average two weeks earlier.
9. Massachusetts - Average of 986 cases per day, an increase of 75% from the average two weeks earlier.
10. Ohio - Average of 2,333 cases per day, an increase of 66% from the average two weeks earlier.
11. Vermont - Average of 19 cases per day, an increase of 64% from the average two weeks earlier.
12. North Dakota - Average of 820 cases per day, an increase of 54% from the average two weeks earlier.
13. New Jersey - Average of 1,208 cases per day, an increase of 56% from the average two weeks earlier.
14. Alaska - Average of 291 cases per day, an increase of 56% from the average two weeks earlier.
15. Indiana - Average of 2,148 cases per day, an increase of 52% from the average two weeks earlier.
16. Idaho - Average of 893 cases per day, an increase of 49% from the average two weeks earlier.
17. Alabama - Average of 1,312 cases per day, an increase of 49% from the average two weeks earlier.
18. Kentucky - Average of 1,313 cases per day, an increase of 47% from the average two weeks earlier.
19. Arizona - Average of 1,007 cases per day, an increase of 46% from the average two weeks earlier.
20. South Dakota - Average of 848 cases per day, an increase of 43% from the average two weeks earlier.
21. Nevada - Average of 775 cases per day, an increase of 43% from the average two weeks earlier.
22. Tennessee - Average of 2,626 cases per day, an increase of 40% from the average two weeks earlier.
23. Pennsylvania - Average of 1,712 cases per day, an increase of 38% from the average two weeks earlier.
24. California - Average of 4,412 cases per day, an increase of 38% from the average two weeks earlier.
25. Texas - Average of 5,864 cases per day, an increase of 37% from the average two weeks earlier.
26. Florida - Average of 3,374 cases per day, an increase of 31% from the average two weeks earlier.
27. Minnesota - Average of 1,570 cases per day, an increase of 30% from the average two weeks earlier.
28. Utah - Average of 1,523 cases per day, an increase of 30% from the average two weeks earlier.
29. Maine - Average of 70 cases per day, an increase of 28% from the average two weeks earlier.
30. New Hampshire - Average of 91 cases per day, an increase of 27% from the average two weeks earlier.
31. Montana - Average of 723 cases per day, an increase of 27% from the average two weeks earlier.
32. Nebraska - Average of 818 cases per day, an increase of 25% from the average two weeks earlier.
33. Iowa - Average of 1,272 cases per day, an increase of 24% from the average two weeks earlier.
34. West Virginia - Average of 261 cases per day, an increase of 22% from the average two weeks earlier.
35. Washington - Average of 695 cases per day, an increase of 22% from the average two weeks earlier.
36. Arkansas - Average of 1,007 cases per day, an increase of 21% from the average two weeks earlier.
37. Oklahoma - Average of 1,348 cases per day, an increase of 17% from the average two weeks earlier.
38. Georgia - Average of 1,653 cases per day, an increase of 17% from the average two weeks earlier.
39. Kansas - Average of 788 cases per day, an increase of 16% from the average two weeks earlier.
40. South Carolina - Average of 955 cases per day, an increase of 15% from the average two weeks earlier.
41. New York - Average of 1,598 cases per day, an increase of 15% from the average two weeks earlier.
42. Maryland - Average of 660 cases per day, an increase of 14% from the average two weeks earlier.
43. Mississippi - Average of 693 cases per day, an increase of 9% from the average two weeks earlier
44. Virginia - Average of 1,033 cases per day, an increase of 6% from the average two weeks earlier.
45. Oregon - Average of 367 cases per day, an increase of 3% from the average two weeks earlier.
46. Missouri - Average of 1,869 cases per day, an increase of 2% from the average two weeks earlier.
47. North Carolina - Average of 2,002 cases per day, an increase of 1% from the average two weeks earlier.

States seeing case decreases (by percentages):

1. Hawaii - Average of 91 cases per day, a decrease of 5% from the average two weeks earlier.
2. Louisiana - Average of 672 cases per day, a decrease of 3% from the average two weeks earlier.
3. Delaware - Average of 124 cases per day, a decrease of 2% from the average two weeks earlier.

Latest case numbers from the New York Times.

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