As you can see, the number of new virus cases in the U.S. is surging — and not far from this summer’s peak. It is the most common metric for tracking the virus. The rising line mostly reflects reality: The virus is surging, especially in the Upper Midwest. But you’ll notice that the red line on the chart — the number of Americans currently hospitalized with virus complications — looks less bad. Partly because the number of virus cases is not actually rising as much as the official case numbers suggest.

Source: New York Times October 20, 2020 10:45 UTC