US Covid Test Positivity Tops 3% for First Time Since March as Cases Rise in All 50 States
Updated
Updated · CNN · Aug 18
US Covid Test Positivity Tops 3% for First Time Since March as Cases Rise in All 50 States
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Aug 18
Summary
CDC data for the week ending Aug. 8 put US Covid-19 test positivity above 3% for the first time since March, marking a broad summer wave even as hospitalizations and deaths remain low.
The rise is being led by the South and West, and experts say late-summer travel, back-to-school mixing and waning immunity from prior shots or infections will likely push cases higher.
Tracking the wave is harder than during the pandemic because the federal government collects less data; the CDC now leans on lab results, emergency-room visits and wastewater signals instead of fuller case reporting.
WastewaterSCAN shows high Covid activity and a 21-day uptrend in every region except the Midwest, while CDC emergency-room data also shows visits increasing in the West and South.
Health officials are urging practical precautions now—testing, masking, handwashing and discussing vaccination or antivirals such as Paxlovid or Xocova—before updated shots are expected in late September.