Our daily update is published. States reported 63k new cases, about the same number as last Tuesday. They also recorded more than 1,000 deaths for the first time since May 29th. Today’s number of currently hospitalized (59k) COVID-19 patients is the third-highest in our data. 
The South continues to drive the rising number of COVID-19 deaths. Today, 58% of deaths reported were in that region.
The trends we're seeing in the South are not good.
Arizona's cases are declining, and although testing has also fallen, the state's current hospitalization numbers are also down, which is unequivocally good. Still: the state’s two highest death tolls are Saturday (147) and today (134).
Georgia is particularly worrisome. The state had not seen a large rise in reported deaths, despite rising infections and a steep hospitalization curve. Today, the state reported its second-highest deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, and the highest number since April 7.
Another bright spot in the data: The Midwest. The region has continued to ramp up testing, and while states there are discovering a lot of cases, the rise remains slow compared to outbreaks elsewhere in the US, and deaths are still low.
Texas has seen almost twice as many deaths in July as any previous month—and there are still 10 days left.
