COVID-19 remained at 'very high' activity levels across the US: See latest data

The most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that last month nearly half of the United States have reported "very high" levels of COVID-19 activity.

As concerns with COVID have waned across the U.S., the CDC has come to rely on wastewater data to track the virus, which often lags several weeks behind current case counts.

Data collected between Aug. 25 and Aug. 31 by the CDC showed that 23 states have reported "very high" levels of wastewater viral activity nationwide. The data was published on Sept. 5.

Here are the overall numbers of the states and territories that have reported wastewater viral activity levels as of Aug. 31.

Can't see the table? Click here to view it.

Note: Typically, wastewater data are updated weekly and the data that is published shows the results for the prior week. However, the results can take up to five days to a week to be published online. Thus, the data from Aug. 31 is considered the most recent data.

Here are the overall numbers of the states and territories that have reported wastewater viral activity levels as of Aug. 31.

COVID-19 Current Wastewater Viral Activity Levels Map

Can't see the map? Click here to view it.

What is the current variant that has the highest amount of COVID-19 cases?

Th e CDC's Nowcast data tracker , which displays COVID-19 estimates and projections for two-week periods, projected the KP.3.1.1 variant accounting for 42.2% of positive infections, followed by KP.2.3 at 14.6% in the two-week stretch starting Aug.18 and ending Aug. 31.

"The KP.3.1.1 variant is very similar to other circulating variants in the United States. All current lineages are descendants of JN.1, which emerged in late 2023," Rosa Norman, a spokesperson at the CDC, previously told USA TODAY.

Changes in COVID-19 test positivity within a week

Data collected by the CDC shows that six Southern states making up Region 6 had the biggest decrease (-4.4%) in positive COVID-19 cases from Aug. 25, 2024 to Aug. 31, 2024.

The data was posted on Sept. 9.

Note : The CDC organizes positivity rate based on regions , as defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services .

Here's the list of states and their regions' changes in COVID-19 positivity for the past week:

• Region 1 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont): -2.4%
• Region 2 (New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands): +0.7%
• Region 3 (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia): +3.6%
• Region 4 (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee): -0.6%
• Region 5 (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin): +1.1%
• Region 6 (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas): -4.4%
• Region 7 (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska): -0.2%
• Region 8 (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming): -2.8%
• Region 9 (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Marshall Islands, and Republic of Palau): +0.8%
• Region 10 (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington): +0.1%

The CDC data shows COVID-19 test positivity rate was recorded at 16.3 % for the week of Aug. 35 to Aug. 31, an absolute change of -0.4% from the prior week.

COVID-19 symptoms

The CDC outlines the basic symptoms of COVID-19 on its website. These symptoms can appear between two to 14 days after exposure to the virus and can range from mild to severe.

These are some of the symptoms of COVID-19:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• Loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

The CDC said you should seek medical attention if you have the following symptoms:

• Trouble breathing
• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
• New confusion
• Inability to wake or stay awake
• Pale, gray or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds

Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at aforbes@gannett.com . Follow her on Instagram , Threads and X (Twitter) @forbesfineest.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID-19 remained at 'very high' activity levels across the US: See latest data