Early and severity indicators of COVID-19 are continuing to wane across the nation, according to the latest CDC data.
Compared to the previous week, test positivity fell 1.6%, emergency department visits declined 0.4% and hospitalizations decreased from 3.8 per 100,000 people to 2.8. COVID-19 deaths remained at 2.3%. Test positivity data is through Sept. 7, emergency department and death data is through Sept. 14 and hospitalization data is through Aug. 31.
Three other updates:
1. A new COVID-19 strain, XEC, has been detected in 633 infections worldwide, including 23 in the United States, according to Scripps Research's Outbreak.info. Infectious disease experts say it is too early to make conclusions as they closely watch its transmissibility and severity. As of Sept. 23, the CDC has not published data about XEC on its variant proportions tracker.
2. Starting Sept. 23, U.S. households are eligible to order four free, at-home COVID-19 tests, at covidtests.gov.
3. More evidence has been found linking animals to the origin of SARS-CoV-2, according to research published Sept. 19 in Cell.
Researchers from around the world tested the genetic material from hundreds of swabs taken inside the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China. They found the highest SARS-CoV-2 samples in raccoon dogs, and other animals included the hoary bamboo rat, European rabbit, dog, Amur hedgehog, Malayan porcupine, Reeves's muntjac, Himalayan marmot and masked palm civet.
The two leading theories about the origins of COVID-19 are a lab leak or a zoonotic leap from animals to humans.