COVID-19 test positivity climbed to 11.2 percent for the week ending Saturday, Aug. 23, up from 10.2 percent the previous week, according to updated CDC figures.

By Joe Lombardi From Daily Voice

Federal health officials are sounding the alarm over a surge in COVID-19 cases.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has just reported a noticeable increase in COVID test positivity rates across the United States in data posted Friday, Aug. 29. The latest numbers arrive just days before Labor Day weekend, a peak period for travel and gatherings.

Test positivity climbed to 11.2 percent for the week ending Saturday, Aug. 23, up from 10.2 percent the previous week, according to updated CDC figures. Nearly half the country now faces a test positivity rate of at least 10 percent.

Emergency room visits for COVID also rose slightly, with 1.5 percent of visits resulting in a diagnosis for the virus, up from 1.3 percent the week before.

Hospitalization rates are rising as well. For the week ending Saturday, Aug. 9, the CDC recorded a rate of 1.7 per 100,000 people, compared to 1.3 just seven days earlier.

Deaths linked to COVID-19 remain steady at 0.5 percent of all US fatalities for the week ending Aug. 23.

The agency attributes the surge in part to the spread of the Stratus variant and notes that internal challenges and a new vaccine policy may also play a role.

Check back to Daily Voice for updates.