Outbreak Outlook for Labor Day weekend

Most of the country is still in the thick of the summer Covid-19 wave. Plus updates on cold-causing viruses, measles, and the deli meat recall.

ILI

Nationally, influenza and influenza-like illness (ILI) remains minimal. However, as I noted last week, there are some signs that ILI is starting up again, including a slight increase in outpatient visits, to 1.8% nationally.

The increase is most apparent among children and young adults, which makes sense as kids and teachers have returned to classrooms in the past couple weeks.

Both Georgia and Washington DC have transitioned from “minimal” to “low” ILI activity. In Georgia, ILI accounted for 3.4% of all outpatient visits last week, surpassing the regional baseline of 3.3% that marks the beginning of flu season. This increase was primarily concentrated among those aged 5-24, followed by 25-49.

Note that we are still in the 2023-2024 flu year (red triangles). The new year will begin in October. Source: GDPH

Covid-19

Covid-19 activity is still very high, with all regions seeing elevated transmission. The South has surpassed the West as the region with the highest wastewater concentration, and the Midwest and Northeast are continuing to see increasing levels.

Source: CDC

Emergency department visits for Covid-19 held steady at an elevated 2.5%. However, hospitalizations declined notably last week at the national level, to 3.1 per 100,000 people.