These States Just Warned of COVID Spike

COVID-19 cases are on the rise across the U.S., in the first significant increase since the Omicron surge in January 2022. "Most of the cases are relatively mild," said Dr. Eric S. Toner, at the Center for Health Security at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "It's not over yet. It may be a mistake to relax all of our protective measures too quickly. What we're not seeing is a lot of stress on hospitals, and that's very encouraging. It is clear that Covid is here, and will be here for some time." Here are five COVID-19 hotspots. Read on—and to ensure your health and the health of others, don't miss these Sure Signs You've Already Had COVID.

New York City raised its COVID-19 alert to medium after cases went higher than 200 per 100,000 people. "The coming weeks will be critical to slowing the spread of COVID-19 and getting back to a low-risk level so we can more safely enjoy our spring," says NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan. "And remember, the steps you take to protect yourself also protect others, especially those most vulnerable. As a city, we have the tools we need to beat back this virus. As New Yorkers, we are in this together. By incorporating these steps into our daily lives, we can continue to look out for one another and ourselves."

COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Utah, and experts are not sure what to expect next. "We're watching evolution in process here, in real time," says Kelly Oakeson, Utah Department of Health's chief scientist for next generation sequencing and bioinformatics. "It's still too early on to tell what clinical outcomes are going to be. With viruses, there is no rule that says over time, they evolve to be less severe. … That just doesn't happen. Natural selection, evolution, is random. So those mutations that happen as the virus replicates happen randomly."

"The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reports as of May 2, 2022, there are currently 854 active COVID-19 cases statewide. There has been one death reported since the last report, with a total of 6,857 deaths attributed to COVID-19," according to a press release.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

According to the CDC, half of Vermont's counties have high levels of COVID-19 infections with Washington County reporting the highest number of cases. "As we continue moving forward and evolving our management of this virus, it's important to reflect on the progress we've made, and how much Vermonters have stepped up over the last two years," says Governor Phil Scott. "Although COVID isn't going away, we're in a much different place than we were not too long ago, and we know how to protect ourselves. Vaccination remains the best tool in our toolbox to protect yourself and others, and we continue to encourage anyone who hasn't to get vaccinated and boosted."

Maine is seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. "These increases are being driven largely by a more contagious version of COVID-19," says Nirav D. Shah, M.D., J.D., director of the Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention. "It's important to note that we are nowhere near what we experienced during the Omicron spike earlier this year."

Follow the public health fundamentals and help end this pandemic, no matter where you live—get vaccinated or boosted ASAP; if you live in an area with low vaccination rates, wear an N95 face mask, don't travel, social distance, avoid large crowds, don't go indoors with people you're not sheltering with (especially in bars), practice good hand hygiene, and to protect your life and the lives of others, don't visit any of these 35 Places You're Most Likely to Catch COVID.