A shelter in Huntsville, Texas for people in the path of Hurricane Laura.
Photo: Go Nakamura/Bloomberg NewsNew coronavirus cases in the U.S. climbed above 40,000 for the second day in a row, as the impact of Hurricane Laura added to the challenges some states face in containing the spread of the virus.
Nationwide, the U.S. reported nearly 46,000 new cases for Thursday, a slight rise from the previous day and the fourth consecutive increase in the daily tally, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering
Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering
However, the seven-day average of new cases in the U.S. for Aug. 27 was about 41,991, the lowest it has been since July 1, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Johns Hopkins data. The seven-day average has been lower than the two-week average for around a month now, suggesting that reported cases are declining, though the data show that new hot spots appear to be emerging in the Midwest.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. climbed to almost 5.87 million, representing nearly a quarter of the roughly 24.5 million cases world-wide.
Louisiana was working to minimize spread of the virus as the state recovers from the hurricane, which left at least six dead and tens of thousands without power. At shelters, officials tried to promote social-distancing measures and handed out masks. Most people were sent to hotel rooms and vacant college dormitories in Texas and Louisiana to minimize contagion risk.
Louisiana on Friday reported 627 new coronavirus cases and 30 additional deaths, according to the state Department of Health. The state shut testing sites in advance of the storm, and Gov. John Bel Edwards said it would be difficult to get them up and operating again because of storm damage and staffing issues. They were run by members of the National Guard deployed to provide storm relief.
Precautions to head off the virus were taken as thousands of people arrived at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington to push for policing overhauls on the 57th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Protesters wore masks and lined up to have their temperatures checked, while seating was arranged to preserve social distancing.
The number of new coronavirus cases showed signs of easing this week in some states that were hot spots throughout July. However, some Midwest states are seeing case numbers go up.
Texas reported more than 3,900 cases Thursday, down from Wednesday’s total of 6,300 new cases, which was the state’s highest daily tally since Aug. 18, according to Johns Hopkins data.
California reported more than 4,800 new cases for Thursday, though the actual number may be higher. Gov. Gavin Newsom said earlier this week that wildfires were affecting some of the state’s testing labs.
On Thursday, Minnesota for the first time reported more than 1,000 new cases in a day, according to Johns Hopkins. Kansas earlier this week hit the same milestone. Iowa on Thursday reported 2,681 new cases, a week after crossing over the 1,000 new daily case mark for the first time. Hawaii is also facing a jump in new cases, after largely succeeding in shielding itself for the first four months of the pandemic.
All told, on Thursday, the seven-day average of new cases was outpacing the 14-day average of cases in 26 states.
The seven-day average of tests across the nation appears to be leveling out after seeing a decline in the middle of the month. At its height, the U.S. was conducting more than 850,000 tests—in late July—but that number fell to around 700,000 in early August, according to a seven-day average compiled by the COVID Tracking Project. After reaching more than 782,000 tests on Aug. 16, the latest weekly average shows the U.S. is averaging 693,000 tests.
The number of people admitted to hospitals over the last week has declined by around 4,000, and is now at 37,464, according to data from the Covid Tracking Project. Although hospitalizations data vary from state to state depending on the size and severity of the outbreak in the area, hospitalizations in general have been on the decline since July 27, when nearly 59,000 people were hospitalized with Covid-19.
The nation’s death toll approached 181,000, with 1,116 fatalities reported on Thursday.
However, both the seven-day and two-week average of daily deaths in the U.S. has dipped below 1,000 for the last six days, according to a Journal analysis of data from Johns Hopkins. Before that, both averages of deaths had been consistently above 1,000 since July 31.
Sources: Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering; the Lancet; Associated Press; U.S. Census
Sources: Johns Hopkins University (cases); Census Bureau (population)
In the U.S. territory of Guam, 112 new cases were recorded, 28 of which were reported by the Department of Defense. Guam’s governor extended an order for people to stay home and for all nonessential businesses to remain closed. Felix Cabrera, chief medical officer at Guam Regional Medical City, said the island’s fragile health-care system was stretched to the limit.
Elsewhere in the world, India reported 77,266 new cases, a single-day record, taking its total to nearly 3.4 million, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The country’s death toll rose by 1,057 to 61,529.
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Face masks are now mandatory everywhere in Paris and its suburbs, an area of nearly seven million people.
South Korea reported 371 new cases, bringing the total to 19,077, with more than 4,300 occurring since Aug. 14. On Friday, the country tightened social-distancing measures in the Seoul metropolitan area.
New Zealand reported five new locally transmitted cases and seven infections in people who are being quarantined in hotels. The five local cases were all linked to a recent outbreak in Auckland, the center of the pandemic’s resurgence in the country.
Corrections & Amplifications
The president of the University of South Carolina is Bob Caslen An earlier version of this article incorrectly spelled his name as Calsen.. (Corrected on Aug. 28)
Write to Talal Ansari at Talal.Ansari@wsj.com and David Hall at david.hall@wsj.com
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