Recent health figures show that the national seven-day average of new COVID cases has risen 18 percent to 21 per 100,000 people over the past week. And while these figures remain far below the records set during Omicron’s winter spike, experts are now cautioning that infections could rise on a national level if the virus evolves again. “A full surge over the summer is going to be really dependent on a variant fully emerging. That tends to be the biggest trigger that will send us into a surge,” Keri Althoff, PhD, professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told USA Today. “Those transmissible variants are good at finding pockets of unvaccinated people, and those people are more at risk of hospitalization and death.” Other officials echoed the warnings that we likely hadn’t seen the last surprise from the virus—especially if history is any indication. “You know, if you take a step back and look at the last two winters, we’ve had relatively large surges of infections,” White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Ashish Jha, MD, said during a May 8 appearance on ABC’s This Week. “We’re looking at a range of models, both internal and external models. And what they’re predicting is that if we don’t get ahead of this thing, we’re going to have a lot of waning immunity, this virus continues to evolve, and we may see a pretty sizable wave of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths this fall and winter.” In a tweet posted later that day, Jha argued for more federal funding to help prevent future waves of infection from bringing hospitalization and death rates from the virus back up with them. “The bottom line is this: we’re at a point in the pandemic where we know how to manage the virus,” he wrote. “To keep infections low, to prevent serious illness, and to protect the most vulnerable. And that’s our focus right now.” Read on to see which states have experienced COVID surges of more than 50 percent over the past week as of May 10, according to data from The Washington Post. READ THIS NEXT: If You Notice This on Your Face, It Could Be an Omicron Symptom.
New cases in the last seven days: 34 cases per 100,000 people Percent increase in the last seven days: 53 percent
The daily average of COVID-19 cases in Delaware has been on the rise recently. The community spread level in Kent County—one of three counties in the state—is currently listed as “medium,” with a total of 216.8 new cases reported per 100,000 people as of May 9, according to COVID Act Now.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb
New cases in the last seven days: 8 cases per 100,000 people Percent increase in the last seven days: 55 percent
The latest spike in Mississippi has seen a drastic jump in recent days, with the state’s daily average having jumped 243 percent over the past two weeks to 241 as of May 9, according to The Times. Fortunately, hospitalizations and deaths have not followed suit and are still decreasing.
New cases in the last seven days: 8 cases per 100,000 people Percent increase in the last seven days: 59 percent
Rising case counts in Louisiana come as hospitalizations begin to show signs of creeping upwards. The state’s daily average had ticked up four percent over the past two weeks to 61 as of May 9, according to The Times. Fortunately, deaths have decreased 28 percent to a daily average of three over the same period.
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New cases in the last seven days: 42 cases per 100,000 people Percent increase in the last seven days: 59 percent
During an update on May 9, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont reported that the state’s positive test rate was 11.3 percent for the past seven days. The number of patients hospitalized from COVID had also increased by 46 to a total of 276 over the same dates.
New cases in the last seven days: 13 cases per 100,000 people Percent increase in the last seven days: 61 percent
Cases have been on the rise in Iowa since late March when the state saw its lowest infection rate of the pandemic of about 70 new cases per day, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reports. Unfortunately, hospitalizations are also up 25 percent in the state over the past two weeks to a daily average of 98 as of May 9, according to The Times.
New cases in the last seven days: 7 cases per 100,000 people Percent increase in the last seven days: 65 percent
As of May 9, the positive test rate in Idaho was 6.5 percent, according to COVID Act Now. Three counties—Washington, Adams, and Payette—were also listed as the “yellow” medium level of community spread. READ THIS NEXT: Dr. Fauci Just Warned All Americans “Need to Be Prepared” for This.
New cases in the last seven days: 8 cases per 100,000 people Percent increase in the last seven days: 66 percent
As COVID cases rise again in Arizona, the state’s positive test rate was reported to be 8 percent as of May 9, according to COVID Act Now. And while hospitalizations remain relatively flat over the past two weeks, deaths have increased 721 percent to a daily average of 34 on May 9, according to The Times.
New cases in the last seven days: 14 cases per 100,000 people Percent increase in the last seven days: 90 percent
The recent COVID-19 spike in Utah has also been followed by a rise a seven percent rise in hospitalizations over the past two weeks to a daily average of 75, according to The Times. In addition, both Summit and Grand County are currently listed at the “yellow” medium community transmission level with a statewide positive test rate of 13.4 percent as of May 9, according to COVID Act Now.
New cases in the last seven days: 48 cases per 100,000 people Percent increase in the last seven days: 131 percent
Michigan posted a positive test rate of 15.8 percent as of May 9, according to COVID Act Now. Grand Traverse County was also listed as the “orange” high community transmission level for the virus, meaning that the use of face masks is now recommended while in indoor public spaces or taking public transportation.
New cases in the last seven days: 15 cases per 100,000 people Percent increase in the last seven days: 147 percent
The latest significant rise in COVID cases isn’t the only statistic going up in South Carolina. According to federal hospital data as of May 8 analyzed by USA Today, statewide hospitalizations from the virus rose to 329 from 290 and 180 four weeks ago. Deaths last week also increased to 82 from 33 the week prior. READ THIS NEXT: This One Symptom Could Be Your First Sign of Omicron, Doctors Warn.
