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After weathering four distinct surges since the coronavirus pandemic began last year, the United States appears to be moving toward a decline in acceleration and a turnaround of cases, Dr. Anthony Fauci said at a White House news conference Wednesday. The comments from the White House’s chief medical adviser and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases come amid a decline in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, sparking hope that the summer surge fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus is ebbing. Although the numbers are dropping, Fauci said, the virus is not yet under control. He cautioned that rates have surged from low points in the past. (10/13)

For the first time since early August, the U.S. is averaging fewer than 100,000 new COVID-19 cases per day. The U.S. has blown opportunities like this before, but the prospect of controlling the virus and being able to safely put pandemic life behind us is once again within reach. (Baker, 10/14)

Nineteen more Utahns died of COVID-19 in the past day, according to the Utah Department of Health. One of them was between the ages of 25-44, and six were 45-64. Despite the additional 19 deaths reported, the state’s overall COVID-19 death toll instead rose by 17 on Wednesday. The Health Department said that’s because two previously reported COVID-19 deaths have been removed from the overall total following further analysis. The state’s intensive care units remain near capacity. According to the Utah Department of Health, 92.1% of all ICU beds and 94.3% of ICU beds in larger medical centers are occupied. Of all ICU patients, 45% are suffering from COVID-19. (Means and Pierce, 10/13)

Montana, the first state to ban COVID-19 mandates for employees, has one of the lowest vaccination rates and the highest hospitalization rates in the country. Some hospitals have reached the point of not accepting new patients and are preparing to ration care. The intensive care unit at Billings Clinic is operating at 175% capacity. Dr. Jaimee Belsky, an emergency room doctor there, is trying to keep up with the crush of COVID patients. The hospital's emergency department is "beyond slammed at this moment," a spokesperson said, adding that the department has 9 ICU patients and 13 others waiting to be seen. (Oliver, 10/13)

At least 610 Oregonians died from COVID-19 complications in September, marking the highest fatality count of any month of the pandemic. The death tally increased Wednesday as the Oregon Health Authority announced 1,278 cases and 33 more fatalities connected to COVID-19, including 15 deaths in September, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. (10/14)

Just looking at all the patients lying on the stretchers in emergency department hallways makes Tiffani Dusang physically uncomfortable. It’s like she vibrates, a sort of perpetual small bounce on the soles of her practical shoes. “It’s hard to watch,” said Dusang, the director of emergency and forensic nursing at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing. “I always feel very, very bad when I walk down the hallway, and see that people are in pain, needing to sleep or needing quiet. But they have to be in the hallway, with 10 or 15 people walking by every minute.” (Wells, 10/13)

A new COVID variant named B.1.630, first detected in the U.S. in March, has been sequenced by LSU in Shreveport. It is the first time the variant has been detected in the state of Louisiana. “This is mostly academic curiosity," said virologist Jeremy Kamil, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Louisiana State University Health Shreveport (LSUHS). "This is not a public health threat in the immediate sense." (Pierce, 10/13)

Banned from the Florida hospital room where her mother lay dying of COVID-19, Jayden Arbelaez pitched an idea to construction employees working nearby. “Is there any way that I could get there?” Arbelaez asked them, pointing to a small third-story window of the hospital in Jacksonville. The workers gave the 17-year-old a yellow vest, boots, a helmet and a ladder to climb onto a section of roof so she could look through the window and see her mother, Michelle Arbelaez, alive one last time. (Licon, 10/13)

Officials at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo announced Wednesday that five big cats at the zoo are being treated for COVID-19.Two Sumatran tigers and three snow leopards were tested after they began showing signs of the virus during the weekend, spokeswoman Sarah Wood said in a release. Wood said zoo officials don’t believe the public was at risk because of the distance between the animals and zoo visitors. (10/13)

A systematic review of 57 studies involving more than 250,000 COVID-19 survivors reveals that 54% still had at least one symptom 6 months or more after initial diagnosis or release from the hospital. In the review, published today in JAMA Network Open, a team led by Hershey (Pennsylvania) Medical Center researchers searched the literature from December 2019 through March 2021 for studies on persistent COVID-19–related symptoms diagnosed using lab results, radiologic findings, or clinical signs or symptoms at or after 1 month. (Van Beusekom, 10/13)

Ricarlo Flanagan, who acted in “Shameless” on Showtime and “Walk the Prank” on Disney+, died on Sunday, several weeks after contracting COVID-19. According to Variety, he was a semifinalist in NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” during its ninth season and had appeared in several other TV shows, including “Insecure,” “Room 104,” “The Carmichael Show,” and “The Neighborhood,” among others. (Vakil, 10/13)

KHN: Covid Testing, Turnaround Times Are Still Uneven This Far Into Pandemic

In one recent week, a New Yorker got a free covid-19 test in a jiffy, with results the next day, while a Coloradan had to shell out $50 for a test two cities from her hometown after a frantic round of pharmacy-hopping. A Montanan drove an hour each way to get a test, wondering if, this time, it would again take five days to get results. While covid testing is much easier to come by than it was early in the pandemic, the ability to get a test — and timely results — can vary widely nationwide. A fragmented testing system, complicated logistics, technician burnout and squirrelly spikes in demand are contributing to this bumpy ride. “We’re still where we were 18 months ago,” said Rebecca Stanfel, the Montana woman who had to wait five days for test results in Helena last month after being exposed to someone with the virus. (Bichell, 10/14)