Coronavirus tally: Hospitalizations jump to 4-month high, 2-week trend of new cases rise 11%

The seven-day average of COVID-19-related hospitalizations in the U.S. jumped to 34,731 on July 6, up 13% from two-weeks ago and the most since March 7, according to a New York Times tracker. The daily average of those hospitalized in intensive-care units (ICUs) as increased 14% in two weeks to 3,924, the most since March 18. The rise in hospitalizations comes as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said pharmacists can now prescribe Pfizer Inc.’s COVID-19 pill Paxlovid directly to patients. The daily average of new COVID cases was 107,879 on Wednesday, that’s up 11% in two weeks but has held steady within a relatively narrow range for the past three months. The daily average of deaths have declined two-straight days to 323, but was up 8% in two weeks. Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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