COVID-19 is sending mixed messages. The U.S. is recording over 800,000 cases a day for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, and hospitalizations are also setting records.
But New York State recorded only about 48,000 cases on Friday, almost a 47% drop from the previous week's case count, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Saturday.
"We are turning the corner on the winter surge, but we're not through this yet," the governor said in a statement.
Minnesota also saw declining intensive-care hospitalizations for COVID-19, and cases have been falling in Washington D.C. and other cities in the eastern half of the country.
But New York's declining trend is not indicative of the national COVID-19 portrait, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned on Sunday.
"The entire country is not moving at the same pace," he told CNN host Jake Tapper.
Oklahoma and Georgia both saw over a 100% rise in weekly COVID-19 cases, a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows, while Colorado saw a 90% increase.
"We shouldn't expect a national peak in the next coming days," he said. "The next feel weeks will be tough."
Also in the news:
►The United States has reported its 850,000 death, Johns Hopkins University data shows. The U.S. averaged 1,776 reported deaths per day over the last week.
►The Biden administration on Wednesday will launch a website where Americans can order up to four free COVID-19 testing kits per person.
►U.S. Rep. David Trone of Maryland announced that he has tested positive for COVID-19. Trone said he has received a booster and is experiencing "only minor symptoms," according to The Washington Post.
►Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez has signed an executive order requiring all government workers on the tribe's vast reservation to receive a booster shot.
???? Today's numbers: The U.S. has recorded more than 65 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 850,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Global totals: More than 326 million cases and over 5.5 million deaths. More than 208 million Americans - 62.9% - are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
???? What we're reading: Omicron is closing daycare centers in droves. Parents are "just trying to stay afloat." USA TODAY's Alia Wong explains.
