
The Trump administration’s reopening guidelines detail that in order to start lifting restrictions and reopening the economy, a state needs to report 14-day trends of fewer cases or fewer positive tests (though local officials do get some leeway in adjusting the metrics).
- Not a lot of states meet that criteria, Axios editor-in-chief Nick Johnston writes.
Our chart compares each state’s seven-day average of new cases from Monday and the seven-day average from a week prior, April 27.
- By this metric, Minnesota, Nebraska and Puerto Rico have the most worrisome trends, while Arkansas and Wyoming have the most positive trends. Twelve states are moving in the right direction.
- But more than a third of the nation still has growing numbers of cases. And that includes states such as Texas and Virginia, where Republican and Democratic governors are beginning to unveil re-opening plans.
Yes, but: These trends only tell us so much.
- Some states may see their case counts rise not necessarily because their outbreaks are getting dramatically worse, but because their testing is getting better, so they’re catching more cases.
- That’s why health officials are also pulling in other metrics — including the number of deaths, the number of hospitalizations and the percentage of tested patients who test positive. A higher percentage means you’re probably missing people.
- Still, public-health guidance calls for a steady decrease in cases before opening up, and few states have achieved that.
The bottom line: The virus isn’t just some other states’ problem. It’s everyone’s problem.

