Coronavirus cases are continuing to rise across the U.S. but the rate of infections is showing signs of slowing, which could mean that the fourth wave of the pandemic is coming to an end.
On Tuesday, officials recorded 261,683 new cases of COVID-19 with a seven-day rolling average of 154,553, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
This means that although the overall number of infections has risen, the growth rate of new cases has significantly slowed to the lowest since early July.
New cases increased 90 percent from the 137,058 average reported three weeks ago, about two-thirds the seven-day rolling average spike of 269 percent reported on August 17.
Nearly half of U.S. states have seen Covid infections either decline or hold steady over the last week, a DailyMail.com analysis of the data shows.
The pace of the rise in deaths has also fallen, even as the overall number increases.
A total of 1,513 virus-related fatalities were recorded on Tuesday with a seven-day rolling average, which is a 107 percent of the 710 average reported on August 17.
This is less than the 186 percent growth in the seven-day rolling average of Covid deaths seen three weeks prior.
It comes as public health experts warn that a surge of infections could follow Labor Day weekend after people attended large events celebrating the end of summer and the new school year.
The U.S. recorded 261,683 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday with a seven-day rolling average of 154,553, a 90% increase from the 137,058 average reported August 17, which is about two-thirds the spike of 269% reported three weeks ago
On Tuesday, 1,513 virus-related deaths were recorded with a seven-day rolling average, a 107% increase from the 710 average three weeks prior, which is a also a drop in the growth rate
Nearly half of U.S. states have seen Covid infections either decline or hold steady over the last week
Over Labor Day weekend, Americans attended a wide variety of mass events including cook-outs, football games, concerts and more.
'What I see is a tension that's going on, this great desire for people to get back to normal or near-normal activities which is, of course, understandable after a year and a half of hunkering down,' Dr William Schaffner, a professor of preventative medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told WKRN.
'At the same time we see this invisible virus highly contagious still spreading in our communities, stressing hospitals intensive care units and increasingly even reaching down into the pediatric population and hospitalizing children.'
A report from the American Academy of Pediatrics found that more than 250,000 children tested positive for the virus last week, the highest number since the pandemic began.
What's more, more than 2,200 children are currently hospitalized with the virus, a record-high, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services.
However,
