COVID Hotspots Surge as New School Year Begins
The CDC estimates that, as of August 26, COVID-19 infections are growing or likely growing in 49 states.
As millions of children return to school, COVID-19 levels have escalated nationwide, with wastewater data highlighting Texas and Mississippi as the two most severely impacted states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classifies wastewater activity into five categories: very low, low, moderate, high, or very high.
In this context, Texas was the sole state with "very high" levels, while Mississippi was the only state classified as "high." Other states, including California, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Nevada, South Carolina, and West Virginia, are experiencing "moderate" levels.
The CDC's wastewater monitoring serves as a crucial surveillance tool, detecting potential increases in infections ahead of clinical testing data, even among individuals who have not been tested. Comparatively, the CDC's Rt estimate measures the rate at which COVID-19 is spreading within a community, determining whether infections are growing or declining. As of August 26, COVID-19 infections are expanding in 48 states, while none are declining. Iowa is the sole state lacking adequate data for this analysis.
COVID-19 outbreaks have already disrupted a limited number of schools during the summer. Last week, the San Perlita Independent School District in South Texas briefly suspended classes due to a "rapid spread" of COVID-19 within the district. Similarly, Park Ridge Achievement Academy in Louisiana also temporarily halted operations after a COVID outbreak among students and staff.
Though these instances are isolated rather than indicative of widespread school closures, they illustrate how concentrated outbreaks can still impact individual schools even when national COVID-19 levels remain comparatively low. The CDC has noted that COVID-19 outbreaks tend to occur in the summer and winter seasons, and the agency warned earlier this year that areas previously experiencing minimal COVID activity during winter could face heightened transmission during summer as population immunity wanes.
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