Emergency department visits involving a COVID-19 diagnosis have been on the rise for several consecutive weeks. For the week ending July 27, 2.2% of ED visits at U.S. hospitals were positive for the virus, marking a 12.1% jump from the week prior.
Most states are seeing consistent week-over-week increases in COVID-19 activity, including test positivity, ED visits and hospitalizations, the CDC said in its respiratory virus weekly snapshot, based on data through Aug. 2. Overall, COVID ED visit rates are highest among children four and under, and adults 65 and older.
The upticks come as a group of subvariants dubbed "FLiRT," after two mutations in the virus's genes, quickly rise in dominance. KP.3.1.1 accounted for nearly 30% of U.S. cases as of Aug. 3, according to CDC estimates. In July, it made up just 7% of cases. The strain and its relatives are thought to spread more easily, though there is no evidence they are more likely to cause severe disease than earlier strains.
"KP.3.1.1 seems to be the most adept at transmission," Peter Chin-Hong, MD, infectious disease expert at UC San Francisco, told the Los Angeles Times. "And it's the one that people think will continue to take over, not only in the United States," but globally, he said.
Below are five states where ED visits diagnosed as COVID upon discharge are highest and rising fastest.
Five states with the highest percent of ED visits diagnosed as COVID for the week ending July 27:
Florida: 4.1%
Louisiana: 3.7%
Texas: 3.6%
Hawaii: 3.4%
Mississippi: 2.8%
Five states where ED COVID visits jumped most for the week ending July 27:
Indiana: 48.2% increase from the week prior
- Percentage of visits diagnosed as COVID: 1.8%
Iowa: 38.2%
- Percentage of visits diagnosed as COVID: 1.6%
Arkansas: 38.2%
- Percentage of visits diagnosed as COVID: 2%
North Carolina: 31.2%
- Percentage of visits diagnosed as COVID: 2.4%
Tennessee: 29.9%
- Percentage of visits diagnosed as COVID: 1.8%