The U.S. has seen two distinct peaks in daily deaths. The nation's summertime surge crested at about half the size of the first deadly wave in April.
Deaths first peaked on April 24 at an average of 2,240 each day as the disease romped through the dense cities of the Northeast. Then, over the summer, outbreaks in Texas, California and Florida drove daily deaths to a second peak of 1,138 on Aug. 1.
Some states—Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Nevada and California—suffered more deaths during the summer wave than during their first milder run-in with the virus in the spring. Others—Michigan, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Colorado—definitely saw two spikes in infections but suffered fewer deaths the second time around.
Now about 700 Americans are dying of the virus each day. That's down about 25% from two weeks ago but still not low enough to match the early July low of about 500 daily deaths, according to an Associated Press analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
