Rising COVID-19 Cases Signal Summer Surge and School Start Concerns

Public health officials are warning of a mild summer surge in Covid-19 cases in the US, attributed to hot weather pushing people indoors and increased summer travel and events. However, recent changes to the disease-fighting infrastructure, including the end of the federal Covid public health emergency, have hindered the assessment of the extent of the threat. Hospitalizations and emergency department visits have increased, but deaths remain low. Experts believe the increase is not driven by a new variant. The discontinuation of free Covid tests and the end of mandatory reporting of Covid data to the CDC have limited the tools available for response. Wastewater surveillance, previously used to monitor the spread of Covid, is becoming less accurate due to increasing immunity and reliance on at-home tests.