Novel Coronavirus Hospitalizations Increasing in 17 States

An ABC News analysis determined that hospitalizations for COVID-19 are rising in 17 U.S. states, and experts warn that the first wave of infections has by no means ended in the country. State-released data compiled by the COVID Tracking Project listed spikes in Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Vermont. Those states also were showing an increase in the rate of positivity, or numbers of positive tests for COVID-19 compared to the number of tests administered. Deaths also are climbing in 13 states and Washington, D.C., although in many states those numbers are very small and have been fluctuating. Arizona is the only state to witness a rise in hospitalizations, deaths, and rate of positivity — but seven states are seeing two of those trends. "We are in the first wave, but we are in the second inning of a nine-inning game," said Michael Osterholm at the University of Minnesota.