COVID Cases Are Six Times Higher Than This Time Last Year: “I don’t think it’s done with us”

Regardless of what the calendar says, the Memorial Day holiday weekend has always been America’s unofficial start to summer. However, COVID-19 cases have risen steadily, and the country’s numbers are now six times higher than they were last year at this time.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 54 percent of the US population has low COVID-19 community levels, with some areas having medium and high levels. Health experts have continued to warn Americans to be careful in the event of a surge, as Hill Reporter reported.

As of Saturday, the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported a seven-day average of 119,725 cases. On May 28^th of last year, that figure held at 17,887 cases. Despite rising infection rates, COVID-related deaths were down from the previous year, indicating increased immunity from vaccines and prior infections, as well as increased treatment availability.

Thankfully, the current COVID-19 case numbers are still substantially lower than the peaks seen this winter, when the highly transmissible omicron variant contributed to a widespread increase in inflections. However, health experts advise the public to remain vigilant.

“I know we all want to be done with COVID, but I don’t think it’s done with us,” said Dr. Jessica Justman, associate professor of medicine in epidemiology and senior technical director of ICAP at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

The worst-case scenario would be the emergence of a powerful variant that is unchanged by vaccines or previous infections, resulting in a large number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. The best-case scenario is the persistently low transmission with no new variants. Most health experts believe the country is finally out of the acute pandemic phase, barring a devastating variant.