FLORIDA, USA — The COVID-19 virus has rebounded in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, with statewide and national data showing an increase in new cases, as well.
The number of new cases has been rising steadily throughout the month of July. According to data from the Florida Department of Health, Hillsborough County saw new COVID-19 cases rise by 21.4 percent (682 new cases) for the week of July 14-20, amid a 17 percent (9,942 new cases) rise in cases for Florida as a whole.
Although reported testing levels are relatively low in Florida, wastewater surveillance has proved to be a useful metric for determining where the virus is increasing within counties. Recent data from BioBot shows COVID levels in Hillsborough County's water have more than doubled since June, with an even greater increase in Pinellas County.
This uptick in the spread of the COVID-19 virus has been evident throughout the U.S. since the 4th of July weekend. Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control shows a steady rise in weekly COVID hospital admissions since the beginning of July. Before this point, cases had been declining since January 2023.
Overall, even with the recent rise in cases, COVID-19 numbers are still lower nationally than they have been during the past three summers. According to reporting from NPR, COVID deaths have fallen to the lowest they've been since the CDC started tracking them.
"Even if infections, emergency room visits and hospitalizations continue to rise to produce another wave, most experts don't expect a surge that would be anywhere as severe as those in previous summers, largely because of the immunity people have from previous infections and vaccinations," the NPR report said.
The FDA is expected to approve a new COVID-19 booster in September. In the meantime, doctors urge older and more at-risk people to get their booster shots, wear masks in crowded places and get tested if they feel sick.