Coronavirus rates across the U.S. may finally be slowing down after a summer wave of infections, but some states are still seeing their positive test numbers rise.
New data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that the highest rates of infection are found in nine Southern and Central, with nearly 1 in 5 COVID tests coming out positive in these regions. However, the most significant rise in infections has been seen in the Northeast.
Since the beginning of April, a group of highly infectious spinoffs of the Omicron variant have risen to prominence across the U.S. Nicknamed the "FLiRT" subvariants due to the positions of the specific mutations in their spike proteins, this new class of viruses now accounts for roughly 80 percent of infections in the country, according to the CDC.
For the week ending August 24, the CDC reported that 17 percent of all COVID tests performed in the U.S.—excluding at-home test results—were coming back positive. This is a 0.8 percent decrease from the previous week, but the infection rates have not been evenly distributed across the country.
The below map illustrates the distribution of positive tests in the U.S., divided into 10 Health and Human Service regions.
Two HHS regions—region six and region seven—came in joint first place for the highest number of infections, with 19.1 percent of tests coming out positive in the last week. Region six encompasses Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, while region seven covers Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.
However, both regions have shown a decrease in case loads over the last week, with region six seeing a 3 percent reduction in positive cases.
Region five—which covers Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin—reported the second highest percentage of positive tests at 17.6 percent, with no change from the previous week.
In fourth place was region one—covering Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont—at 15.3 percent. However, these Northeastern states saw the largest increase in COVID cases, rising 1.2 percent form the previous week.
Despite the overall reduction in positive cases across the country, COVID-19 detection in wastewater is still "very high" in the majority of states.
Move than 40 percent of all U.S. COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks have been attributed to the now-dominant subvariant, KP.3.1.1, which belongs to the FLiRT group of viruses that emerged earlier this year.
However, while the U.S. has seen a steady rise in infections over the summer, hospitalizations have remained relatively low. The new FLiRT variants, while more infectious, do not generally cause as severe symptoms.
The symptoms include the following, according to the CDC:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- Loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
More vulnerable individuals may still be at risk of severe illness, so it is important to self-isolate if you receive a positive COVID test.
Is there a health problem that's worrying you? Let us know via health@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured in Newsweek.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
