As Cases Rise In 21 States, Experts Debate If It’s Start Of Another Surge

CNBC: Covid Cases Are Rising In 21 States As Health Officials Warn Against Reopening Too Quickly
Even as the pace of vaccinations accelerates in the U.S., Covid-19 cases are increasing in 21 states and highly infectious variants are spreading as governors relax restrictions on businesses like restaurants, bars and gyms. Public health officials warn that while roughly 2.5 million people nationwide are receiving shots every day, infection levels have plateaued this month and some states have failed to reduce the number of daily cases. (Newburger, 3/20)

CNN: Some Experts Are Split On Whether US Could See Another Covid-19 Surge 
The spread of variants, in combination with the still small percentage of fully vaccinated Americans, is why experts have stressed state leaders should not be lifting Covid-19 measures just yet -- and Americans should be doubling down on safety measures, to avoid another surge of the virus. But while at least a dozen governors have eased restrictions this month and cases across the US are no longer seeing the steep declines recorded earlier this year, one expert says it's unlikely the US will see another Covid-19 surge. (Maxouris, 3/22)

Axios: Former FDA Chief: Fourth COVID Wave Not Likely 
The U.S. is unlikely to face a fourth wave of the coronavirus, but will likely see plateauing case numbers before they continue to decline, Former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb told ABC's "Face the Nation" on Sunday. It comes amid growing concerns about a possible surge in the U.S. Gottlieb noted that there are still many unanswered questions about new COVID-19 variants that could pose problems down the road. (Saric, 3/21)

In updates on the coronavirus variants —

CNBC: Fauci Says Variant From U.K. Likely Accounts For Up To 30% Of U.S. Infections
The highly contagious variant first identified in the U.K. likely accounts for up to 30% of Covid-19 infections in the United States, White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Friday. The variant, called B.1.1.7, has been reported in at least 94 countries and detected in 50 jurisdictions in the U.S., Fauci said during a White House news briefing on the pandemic, adding that the numbers are likely growing. (Lovelace Jr. and Miao, 3/19)

Bloomberg: U.K. Says It’s Developing Fast Test For Covid-19 Variants
The U.K. government is developing new testing technology that would identify whether positive Covid-19 test samples contain variants of concern, and provide more rapid results. The “genotype assay test” would halve the time it takes to identify the variants and could be used in addition to standard testing to find cases more quickly, the U.K. government’s health ministry said in a statement Monday. (Gopal, 3/21)

In news about contract tracing —

The Pew Charitable Trusts: For States COVID Contact Tracing Apps Privacy Tops Utility
The digital contact tracing effort in Virginia is 2 million phones strong. Roughly a quarter of the adult population has downloaded the state’s COVIDWISE app or opted in on their iPhones to receive exposure notifications. Almost 26,000 times, a notification has been sent to let someone know they were likely exposed to a person with COVID-19.But that’s the bulk of the information the state health department can glean. The system doesn’t track user locations, so officials don’t know where exposures happened, according to Jeff Stover, an executive adviser to the commissioner of Virginia’s Department of Health. (Van Ness, 3/19)

NPR: How Care Coordination And Support For Isolation Can Help Curb The Pandemic 
While everyone's hopes are trained on COVID-19 vaccines to lead the way out of the pandemic, public health experts say that other public health tools are still crucial for stopping the virus. One of those tools — contact tracing — may finally be ready to have its moment, says Crystal Watson, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. During the winter surge, contact tracers were overwhelmed; they couldn't possibly reach everyone who tested positive — and their close contacts — to tell them to stay home to slow the spread. (Simmons-Duffin, 3/19)