Coronavirus deaths in the United States have been approaching 190,000 along with a spike in new cases in the US Midwest with states like Iowa and South Dakota emerging as the new hot spots in the past few weeks.
Iowa currently has one of the highest rates of infection in the nation, with 15 percent of tests last week coming back positive.
Nearby South Dakota has a positive test rate of 19 percent and North Dakota is at 18 percent, according to a Reuters analysis.
The surge in Iowa and South Dakota is being linked to colleges reopening in Iowa and an annual motorcycle rally last month in Sturgis, South Dakota.
Kansas, Idaho and Missouri are also among the top 10 states for positive test rates.
Highest confirmed cases
New infections have fallen for seven weeks in a row for the United States with a death rate of about 6,100 per week from Covid-19 in the last month.
On a per-capita basis, the United States ranks 12th in the world for the number of deaths according to a Reuters analysis.
The analysis reports the US has 58 deaths per 100,000 people, and places 11th in the world for cases, with 1,933 cases per 100,000 residents.
The country also has the highest confirmed cases in the world with over 6.3 million followed by India with 4.3 million cases and Brazil with 4.1 million.
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US death toll
The US death toll for Covid-19 is also the highest in the world.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had forecast last month that the death toll would reach 200,000 to 211,000 by September 26.
The University of Washington’s health institute last week forecasted that the US death toll from the coronavirus would reach 410,000 by the end of the year.
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