Connecticut experiencing 'high' level of COVID, CDC says
Connecticut is currently experiencing "high" levels of COVID-19 transmission, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
According to CDC wastewater surveillance data, Connecticut is one of more than two dozen states seeing either "high" or "very high" levels of COVID, amid a national surge that included a positive test for President Joe Biden.
It is difficult to say with any precision how much COVID is currently circulating in Connecticut, both due to a lack of testing and a lack of publicly reported data. As of last year, Connecticut's Department of Public Health reports regular COVID data only from October through May, treating the disease as a seasonal concern, similar to the flu.
Still, experts say COVID is clearly spreading in Connecticut this summer.
"We have seen a summer rise in cases for several years, usually in August," Dr. Manisha Juthani, the state's public health commissioner, said earlier this month. "This year, it seems this rise is happening now."
The CDC data comes from hundreds of sites nationwide, including nine in Connecticut, where researchers monitor wastewater samples for certain contaminants.
According to the data, last updated July 11, Connecticut is one of three states in New England currently seeing "high" levels of transmission, along with Maine and New Hampshire. Massachusetts and Vermont have "moderate" levels, the CDC says, while Rhode Island has "low levels," as do New York and New Jersey.
The surge has been worst in the West, with California, Nevada and Oregon among the states experiencing the most transmission.
Much of the rise in COVID cases appears attributable to new KP variants, which have pushed out other strains in recent weeks.
Staff writer Jordan Fenster contributed to this report.
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