The Great Lakes states and Midwestern regions are among those with the highest prevalence of COVID-19 infections in the recent week on record, according to maps produced through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Two of the federal agency’s administrative regions had, on average, a prevalence of positive antigen tests greater than 15% of those performed in the week ending Dec. 30.
The East Coast and Pacific Northwest saw the highest positive controls, while the rest of the country saw low control positivity rates, according to figures released Sunday.
The recent uptick in positive cases and hospitalizations with COVID is something health officials have been expecting during the winter months. Colder weather tends to lead to an increased spread of viruses and other infections as immunity is lower.
The CDC reported that nationally, the prevalence was about 12. 3 percent of tests performed, down from 0. 1 percent last week. The geographic location of positive cases shows that test positivity is declining in many areas after the holiday period, while a higher number of cases persists in the central Midwest.
High respiratory infections, such as COVID and the flu, have led to some hospitals in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York and Washington D. C. to impose new mask mandates.
The CDC no longer provides test positivity percentages by state, but instead provides them as an average for its administrative regions. Region seven, which includes Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska, had an overall prevalence of 17. 8% positive controls out of 6,989. tests conducted, a marginal low of 0. 6 percent from last week.
The fifth-largest region — Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin — had a test positivity rate of 15. 1% from about 20,380 checks performed, up 0. 2% from last week.
Four regions comprising New England, the Mid Atlantic and Pacific Northwest states had rates of positive tests between 10 and 14.9 percent, as well as Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico.
All other jurisdictions had positivity rates between 5 and 9. 9 percent. Region 9, which includes California, Nevada and Arizona, had the lowest rate at 8%, down 2. 5% from the week ending Dec. 23.
The CDC said the data comes with at-home testing, adding that the effects may only be subject to updating due to delays in reporting from testing centers.
“The data represent laboratory tests performed, not individual people,” the CDC said, as one person may be administered multiple tests in a week. The agency added that the percentage of positive tests “is one of the metrics used to monitor COVID-19 transmission over time and by area.”
Meanwhile, in the U. S. , COVID-related hospitalizations have continued to rise, with some of the increases seen in East Coast states. The only state that has seen a decline in hospital admissions is Nebraska.
Health officials expected infections to rise as other people traveled and combined for the holidays. The increase in hospitalizations is offset by the increase in positive cases, because there is often a lag between infection and symptoms that require medical treatment.
Aleks Phillips is an American journalist for Newsweek founded in London. It focuses on U. S. policy and the environment. U. S. He has extensively covered weather updates, as well as healthcare and crime. Aleks joined Newsweek in 2023 from the Daily Express and in the past worked for Chemist and Druggist and the Jewish Chronicle. He is a graduate of the University of Cambridge. Languages: English.
You can reach Aleks by emailing aleks. phillips@newsweek. com.