Below we take a closer look at five areas in the U.S., including four states and the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C., that have reported the largest drop in new infections per capita over the past seven days, from the previous week, according to data compiled by The New York Times.

All population data below is from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Virginia

Week-to-week decrease in new cases per capita: 674

New cases per capita in (most recent) week one: 6,949New cases per capita in (previous) week two: 7,623Total population: 8,535,519 (as of July 2019)Total confirmed cases: 167,754

While the average daily case count in Virginia saw a statistical decline in the latest two-week period from October 7 to 20, the figure increased from mid-June to late July, before flattening out through October, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

Louisiana

Week-to-week decrease in new cases per capita: 420

New cases per capita in week one: 4,440New cases per capita in week two: 4,860Total population: 4,648,794 (as of July 2019)Total confirmed cases: 179,769

Average daily new cases in Louisiana have been decreasing since late July, when it peaked at 2,267 on July 23, after rising sharply from early June. The figure flattened out from early September through October, according to JHU.

Oklahoma

Week-to-week decrease in new cases per capita: 92

New cases per capita in week one: 8,055New cases per capita in week two: 8,147Total population: 3,956,971 (as of July 2019)Total confirmed cases: 109,548

While the average daily case count in Oklahoma saw a statistical decline in the latest two-week period from October 7 to 20, the figure has been rising sharply since early June. The average count dropped from late July to mid-August before increasing again through October, according to JHU.

Hawaii

Week-to-week decrease in new cases per capita: 80

New cases per capita in week one: 566New cases per capita in week two: 646Total population: 1,415,872 (as of July 2019)Total confirmed cases: 14,302

Average daily new cases in Hawaii have been declining since late August, when it peaked at 255, after rising sharply since late July. The figure remained flat from March to late July, according to JHU.

Washington, D.C.

Week-to-week decrease in new cases per capita: 39

New cases per capita in week one: 377New cases per capita in week two: 416Total population: 705,749 (as of July 2019)Total confirmed cases: 16,445

Average daily new cases in Washington D.C. were on a downward trend in the recent two-week period from October 7 to 20, according to JHU.

The average count has been declining since early May and flattened out from late June through October, according to data compiled by Worldometer.

The wider picture

The novel coronavirus has infected more than 40.8 million people across the globe since it was first reported in Wuhan, China, including over 8.2 million in the U.S. Globally, more than 1.1 million have died following infection, while more than 27.9 million have reportedly recovered as of Wednesday, according to JHU.

The graphic below, produced by Statista, illustrates a survey of U.S. adults concerned about catching COVID-19.

The graphic below, also produced by Statista, illustrates U.S. states with the most COVID-19 cases.