The U.S. seven-day moving average for new Covid-19 cases has mostly hovered slightly above 100,000 a day since May, according to CDC data through last week, before the July Fourth holiday temporarily slowed reporting. These cases likely represent a fraction of actual infections due to at-home testing states generally don’t track, epidemiologists say.
Public-health experts believe BA.5 will at least extend this trend of elevated cases, which come at a time many people have abandoned other mitigation measures like wearing masks in public places while also returning to more normal patterns of travel and social gatherings.
Hospitalizations remain far below levels seen in prior peaks, but there are signs of upward pressure, the latest federal data show. Such numbers can reflect the level of virus in the community, as a portion of Covid-19 hospitalization data reflects patients who needed care for other reasons, but tested positive during screening.
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