As it enters its third year, the Covid-19 pandemic has entered a new phase, one driven by a mix of fear, apathy, and uncertainty. Masks have become scarce in some parts of the country, and the assumption is that the pandemic is over. Masking, on the other hand, is making a big comeback in other places, as concerns grow about a new variant and the possibility of another spike in cases.
If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that the Covid situation can shift rapidly. New variants appear. Gatherings are converted into spreader events. And the differences between states can be dramatic, as per Nbcnews Reporter.
According to the CDC, the most recent week saw a seven-day average of 1,464 new hospital admissions for Covid-19 across the United States. That figure was 1,425 last week. As a result, this week’s figure was only up by about 40 points, which could be attributed to noise in the data. In mid-January, the seven-day average was more than 21,000 people. Those figures show how different things are now compared to the worst cases of omicron in the country’s hospitals.
Philadelphia announced last week that it was reinstating an indoor mask mandate for the city until rates dropped again. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) changed tack and extended their travel mask mandate, which was set to expire on April 18th, stating that masks will be required on commercial flights until at least May 3rd.
With the availability of new home COVID tests, positive cases aren’t always reported to the CDC, and obtaining accurate community spread numbers may continue to be difficult due to individual states’ rules regarding masks and indoor gatherings. With accuracy shrinking, the future of virus tracking may be put at risk.