As the summer surge of COVID-19 cases continues to fall in Texas, California, and Arizona, at least 26 other states, including Alabama, Missouri, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, and the Dakotas, are seeing 7-day averages of new cases rise by more than 5%.Last week, only 12 states reported increasing averages of 5% or more.According to USA Today, new records for weekly totals were set last week in Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.The rise may be related to college and universities reopening in the first 2 weeks of August.
Iowa is home to the two metro areas with the most new cases relative to total population: Ames and Iowa City, both college towns.