U.S. marks lowest COVID cases in nearly a year

The United States last week reported the lowest number of new COVID-19 cases in nearly a year, with new infections dropping 26% from the previous seven days to just under 180,000, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county data.

Gavino Garay reports.

The United States has reached a new milestone in the fight against the coronavirus, reporting last week the lowest number of new COVID-19 cases in nearly a year, according to a Reuters analysis of state and local data.

New infections dropped 26% from the previous seven days to just under 180,000 for the week.

New cases have fallen for six weeks in a row and hit their lowest level since the week ending June 14, 2020.

Deaths from COVID-19 fell 5% to just under four thousand in the week ending May 23, the fewest deaths in a week since March 2020.

39.6% of the country's population has been fully vaccinated as of Sunday, and nearly 50% has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Vermont leads the country with 69% of its residents receiving at least one dose, followed by Massachusetts at 65%.

The rate of vaccinations, however, has been slowing for five straight weeks.

In the past seven days, an average of 1.8 million vaccine doses were administered per day, down from a peak of 3.1 million shots per day in April.

The Reuters analysis comes as many Americans begin to return to some semblance of normalcy with local governments and businesses beginning to lift mask and social distancing requirements, after the Centers for Disease Control said fully vaccinated Americans can go maskless in most settings.