COVID Rise in 45 States, Most Facing “Very High” Levels 

United States: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), COVID-19 cases have been steadily increasing in 45 states, where the virus level in 26 of the states is reported to be at “very high” or “high.” 

More about the news 

According to the reports, several parts of the western US, where the cases have reached “very high” levels based on wastewater levels over the past month, have risen, including California, Nevada, Oregon, and Texas, and states in the east like Arkansas, Florida, and Maryland. 

Moreover, as the CDC data suggests, Massachusetts has reported a “moderate” rise in cases, although experts noted a drop in wastewater levels between June 29 and July 6, as masslive.com reported. 

Also, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Maine are among those states where higher COVID-19 levels were noticed. Vermont has moderate levels, and Rhode Island, with a low rate level of infection, has been reported. 

The expert’s report suggests that no state has noticed a case decline. 

What more have the experts stated? 

The hospitalization and emergency room visit levels remained low, although emergency room visits, on average, remained the highest this month since February. 

As per the CDC, states are experiencing a probability of epidemic growth, as the agency called it, where estimated values are above one, indicating epidemic growth. 

The reports suggest that Massachusetts has an epidemic status hovering below one at 0.9965, as masslive.com reported. 

According to the Infectious Disease Society of America, currently, the omicron strains is continuing to dominate the number of Covid cases, which are KP.3 and KP.2, and are considered as the part of the FLiRT family of strains, coming down from omicron variant family. 

As the experts noted, the term “FLiRT” is derived from the technical names of their mutations. 

Major symptoms of new COVID-19 variants 

These symptoms appear to be similar to the ones from the previous JN.1, which include: 

• Sore throat 

• Cough 

• Fatigue 

• Congestion 

• Runny nose 

• Headache 

• Muscle aches 

• Fever or chills 

• Loss of sense of taste or smell 

• Shortlessness of breath 

• Nausea or vomiting 

• Diarrhea