The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in August in South Dakota, one of the states in the Midwest seeing a surge in cases. | Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

Most of the Midwest had been spared the worst of Covid-19 — until now.

The coronavirus is always restless, always searching for new people in new places to infect. These days, even as the summer wave fades in the Sun Belt states, several Midwestern states are seeing case numbers rise. They look like the new Covid-19 hot spots.

“The Midwest is taking off,” William Hanage, a Harvard epidemiologist, told me over email. “It’s not going to skyrocket, but there is a clear signal there and it is close to making up for the gains across the Sun Belt.”

Here are the regional trends in chart form, via the Covid Tracking Project:

Covid Tracking Project

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