A couple of weeks after several European countries went on (at least partial) lockdown once again in the face of surging COVID-19 cases, the tightening of restrictions appears to be paying off. As the following chart, based on data from the Johns Hopkins University, shows, the seven-day average of newly confirmed cases across the continent started trending downwards again, fueling hopes that the second wave of the pandemic is about to break.
After successfully keeping new infections at a very low level over the summer, case numbers in Europe had started trending upwards again in mid-July, climbing to unprecedented highs by the end of September, which is also when the EU surpassed the United States in terms of daily new cases. The rate of new infections continued to accelerate through October, with the seven-day average of new cases increasing almost fivefold between October 1 and October 31.
Meanwhile, the situation in the U.S. appears to be worsening, with the number of new cases exceeding 100,000 for the first time on November 3 and climbing from there. By November 17, the seven-day average of new cases had reached 157,000 in the United States, with total cases flying from 10 to 11 million in less than a week.
This chart shows the seven-day rolling average of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and the European Union.
