Classic problem with derivatives: when you have a "rate" of something, it's with respect to a second thing. Most often it's time, which is what people usually d

Classic problem with derivatives: when you have a "rate" of something, it's with respect to a second thing. Most often it's time, which is what people usually default to if you leave out that piece of information. And that's what your chart shows: steady number of deaths per week. But the article is talking about number of deaths per person hospitalized. That is the rate that is decreasing... with respect to time.