Kansas
COVID-19 has also been on the rise in Missouri, according to wastewater surveillance and hospital testing data from the CDC, says The Kansas City Star. Hospitals have also noticed an uptick in positive cases.
Emergency departments were diagnosing approximately 1.3% of their patients with COVID-19 in July. These are the highest COVID levels since the first week of March.
And 11% of very explicit NAAT tests, which are usually used in medical settings, were returning positive as of the same date, giving the first part of July the third-highest test positivity rate recorded this year.
Louisiana
According to the latest federal data, a summer surge in COVID levels continues into fall in Louisiana. Louisiana has the 2nd highest level of COVID-19 in wastewater in the nation, reports NOLA.com.
4 years after the first COVID-19 cases were reported in the state, Louisiana has retired some of the tools for tracking the spread of the virus. Regular testing, mask-wearing, and sanitizing efforts have also fallen by the wayside.
Nevertheless, hospitalizations, rising wastewater levels, and emergency room visits for cold-like symptoms show that COVID-19 is still a big presence in this state.
