Rise in COVID cases in northeastern US, driven by BA.2 variant | Corona Virus

Corona virus cases increasing In the northeastern part of the United States, it is where many Americans travel and gather together for spring break and religious holidays.

The drive to rise was BA.2, one of the variants of Omicron that is more transferable than its sibling BA.1, and was responsible for estimating 86% of new Covid-19 cases nationwide last week, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

With the precautions that were relaxation In several places earlier this year, experts were looking into whether BA.2 would lead to another increase. “This is what the onset of surges looked like” in the past, said Julia Reifman, an assistant professor at the Boston University School of Public Health.

The rising number of cases is expected to lead to disruptions at school and work as more people fall ill. The United States is now at a “key point to get started,” Raifman said. “If we take decisive action to reduce transmission, we will reduce the growth of the case … and if we don’t, we leave it to the virus to decide what’s next.”

The number of cases across the United States remains relatively low, and rates are still declining in many parts of the country. But the US in general is seeing numbers rise, with an average of 30,000 people testing positive in the US every day, compared to about 26,000 last week, according to to the Center for Disease Control.

Washington, D.C., where Mayor Muriel Bowser and US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced their Covid cases contractions last week, one of the highest average increases for two weeks. Rhode Island, Maryland, Kansas, Oregon, New Jersey, Connecticut and New York have seen more than 60% He increases.

Philadelphia was the first city to reauthorize the indoor mask Monday, in an effort to stave off a surge in hospitalizations, a model for the University of Pennsylvania. Expect It may go up in the coming weeks. The city will also add requirements to show proof of vaccination if cases continue to rise.

White House Renewed Authorizing the mask for public transportation for another two weeks on Wednesday.

Several universities across the United States, including Columbia University, American University, Georgetown, George Washington, Johns Hopkins and Rice, are also back to hide their campus assignment.

However, hospitalizations in the United States for Covid are at record low levels 74% of hospital beds currently in use for all reasons across the country. But hospitalization can be a late indication, so it is not yet clear whether BA.2 will severely damage the health system.

Deaths are steady at just over 500 each day. the doctors hopefull Access to treatments, including monoclonal antibodies and antiviral drugs for those most at risk, may stem the rise in hospital admissions and deaths linked to Covid.

But federal funding for these drugs is running out, No new deal in place yet. Just 1.5 m Of the 10 million planned courses of Paxlovid antiviral, for example, they have been delivered to states and territories.

Hospitalization and death aren’t the only severe outcomes — a prolonged period of COVID-19 infection is also a real concern, Raifman said. She added that the number of official cases is also affected by the prevalence of home tests and the lack of affordable tests for those without insurance.

“We’re really falling behind in our response, even with the virus staying with us.”