COVID-19 Levels Peaking Across the US, CDC Figures Show

About two dozen states have reported ‘likely growing’ or ‘growing’ numbers of cases, the CDC says.

This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, yellow, emerging from the surface of cells, blue/pink, cultured in the lab. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. NIAID-RML/AP/The Canadian Press

COVID-19 is peaking in many parts of the country, even as respiratory illness activity is “very low” across the United States, according to an update provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Throughout the country, the CDC’s surveillance data show that “activity is peaking in many areas of the country with elevated emergency department visits and hospitalizations nationally,” the agency said on Sept. 5.

However, “the amount of acute respiratory illness causing people to seek health care is at a very low level,” the CDC also said. Data released by the CDC late last week show that emergency department visits associated with COVID-19 increased slightly, from 1.5 percent on Aug. 23 to 1.6 percent on Aug. 30.

Levels of COVID-19 are reported to be “likely growing” or “growing” in the District of Columbia and 23 states, including Oregon, Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire, according to a map released by the CDC.

Meanwhile, CDC wastewater figures show that COVID-19 viral activity levels are “moderate” and that the District of Columbia and 14 states are reporting “very high” levels, including Alaska, Hawaii, California, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Connecticut.

Levels of the flu and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, are both considered very low but increasing, according to the CDC’s weekly update.

Aside from those viruses, respiratory infections caused by the bacteria Mycoplasma pneumoniae, which can cause “walking pneumonia” in severe cases, remain elevated in some parts of the United States, said the CDC, citing emergency visits and positive tests.

The health agency also said that cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, “are lower than their peak in November 2024” but have been elevated this year compared to the levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There’s no distinct seasonal pattern to whooping cough, but past trends suggest that cases may increase in summer and fall,” the agency said. “Whooping cough is very contagious and can spread easily from person to person.”

The CDC and other health officials warned that infants younger than 1 year of age are at the highest risk of developing severe disease and complications from whooping cough, including death.