New coronavirus infections in the U.S. fell by 25% over the past two weeks — another hopeful sign that the worst of the Delta wave may be behind us.

By the numbers: The U.S. is now averaging roughly 114,000 new cases per day. That’s still a lot, but it’s a significant improvement from this summer, when the Delta variant unleashed a new wave of infections, hospitalizations and death.

Deaths are still on the rise nationwide, because of that summer surge. They’re up 4% over the past two weeks, to an average of 2,000 per day.

If the decline in cases keeps going, deaths should begin to come down relatively soon. Deaths are the last number to increase when a new wave hits, and the last number to decrease when it subsides.