The number of hospital patients in the United States with COVID-19 has dropped consistently in recent weeks, reaching a low not seen since early August, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data. An average of 41,162 patients with COVID-19 were in hospitals between Oct. 28 and Nov. 3, the data show. That’s the lowest seven-day average since Aug. 1. Hospitalizations with COVID-19 hit a low of 12,032 in late June but soon climbed sharply, fueled by a wave of hospitalizations in southern states. Over 93,000 people were hospitalized with the disease by early September. But as cases, hospitalizations, and deaths fell in many states in recent weeks, even with an increase in northern and western states the hospitalization numbers have repeatedly dropped. Hospitalizations are unlikely to rise again soon, based on new hospital admissions with COVID-19. The 1.5 admissions per 100,000 recorded on Nov. 3 was the …