The US Centres for Disease Control & Prevention has said Covid-19 indicators in the country are rising, with emergency department visits, test positivity rates and wastewater levels all going up, while the WHO has also reported an uptick in Covid cases in several countries.
Although the increases are small, the trends show a notable reversal after months of declines, said the CDC.
Additionally, Covid-19 hospitalisations have levelled out and are no longer declining, reports USNews.
“Some countries continue to report high burdens of Covid-19, including increases in newly reported cases and, more importantly, increases in hospitalisations and deaths – the latter being considered more reliable indicators, given the reductions in testing,” said the WHO last week.
New coronavirus strains are also escalating in the US. While the so-called Arcturus strain is the most prominent variant circulating, several other Omicron subvariants are increasing, including XBB.2.3 and EG.5.
Although deaths from the infection are still decreasing, these tend to lag behind increases in cases and hospital admissions.
USNews article – COVID-19 Metrics See First Increase Since January: CDC (Open access)
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