Health Experts Scratching Heads Over Covid Data In Boston-Area Sewage

The Boston Globe: Coronavirus Levels In E. Mass. Waste Water Send Mixed Signals
Coronavirus levels in Eastern Massachusetts waste water are sending mixed signals, with numbers dropping precipitously in one area but not in another. The seven-day average virus level in the northern section of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority system began a steep decline in the past few days, an encouraging sign that the pandemic might be weakening. But the level in the southern section remained essentially flat. (Finucane and Prignano, 6/8)

Des Moines Register: COVID Cases Up, Hospitalizations Down Across Iowa In June's First Week
New reported COVID-19 cases rose this week, while the number of people hospitalized with the virus in Iowa dropped, continuing the pandemic's recent seesawing trend in the state. New reported cases and hospitalizations have alternatively risen and fallen in each of the past several weeks. Both are up substantially over the past two months, according to data from the Iowa Department of Public Health and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. There were 167 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Iowa as of Wednesday, according to the health and human services department. That's down 13 from last week, but still a fivefold increase from the start of April. (Webber, 6/8)

Oklahoman: Oklahoma's COVID Cases Rising: What To Know About Omicron Subvariant
COVID-19 is on the rise again in Oklahoma. Last week, the state reported its largest weekly case total since February, according to state data. And those numbers are almost certainly an undercount, since they don’t include at-home tests, which are being used more often lately. One Oklahoma expert suggested the true number of infections may be eight times higher than what's officially reported. The increase is driven at least in part by a new omicron subvariant, dubbed BA.2.12.1, which is even more contagious than the original omicron variant or any other previous variants. (Branham, 6/8)

AP: New Mexico Sees Uptick In Less Severe COVID-19 Infections
Coronavirus cases are on the rise again in New Mexico, but top state health officials said Wednesday that a return to mask mandates or other widespread public health restrictions are unlikely because infections are becoming more mild. Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase said during his first briefing on the pandemic in months that the situation is very different now than it was over the winter. He noted that more tools and treatments are available and that infections are resulting in far fewer hospitalizations and deaths. (Bryan, 6/8)

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Nevada COVID Hospitalizations Rise In Early June
COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to inch up in Clark County and in Nevada, even as one metric shows confirmed cases dipping, though officials caution that the growing use of at-home tests is leading to undercounts. Hospitalizations are increasing in both general wards and intensive-care units, but hospital infrastracture “is not being stressed by the disease,” the Nevada Hospital Association said in a report released Wednesday. Numbers of hospitalizations are considered a better indicator of disease trends than reported numbers of cases, which don’t capture positive results from rapid tests taken at home. Hospitalizations also better reflect the toll a disease is taking on communities, since infections now frequently result in mild symptoms. (Hynes, 6/8)

San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco COVID Positive Test At Second-Highest Level Ever
The coronavirus test positivity rate in San Francisco, which tracks the percentage of tests coming back positive for COVID-19, topped 14% on Wednesday, according to city data analyzed by The Chronicle. That is the second-highest rate the city has reached to date. The seven-day average climbed up to 18.9% this January during the winter surge before dropping to 2.4% in mid-March. It has been rising steadily since and is now far higher than the statewide average of 8.9%. A rule of thumb among infectious disease experts is that 5% is considered “too high,” according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. (Vaziri, 6/8)

Anchorage Daily News: Alaska’s COVID-19 Data Shows 25% Rise In Cases Reported To State Since Last Week
The number of new COVID-19 cases in Alaska rose by more than 25% this week compared to last, though hospitalizations declined slightly. Here are a few main takeaways from the latest data available from the state Department of Health and Social Services: • By Wednesday, there were 45 COVID-positive patients hospitalized around Alaska, a slight decrease from the 49 reported by the state a week earlier and far below peak numbers earlier in the pandemic. Just under 4% of Alaska’s hospital patients were COVID-positive. One required a ventilator. (6/8)

And more on the spread of covid —

AP: Half Of Louisiana Town's Police Department Out With COVID 
Half of the officers at a southwest Louisiana town’s police department and the chief are out with COVID-19, prompting state police and area sheriff’s office to help pick up the slack. The Duson Police Department implemented its mutual aid policy, which authorizes the other agencies, including the Lafayette and Acadia parish sheriff’s office, to help respond to emergency calls and in-progress crimes, Chief Kip Judice said in a news release. (6/8)

The Boston Globe: Boston Public Schools Ends Mask Mandate
Boston Public Schools will end its mask mandate starting Monday, according to a letter sent out by Superintendent Brenda Cassellius Wednesday afternoon. BPS was among the last remaining districts across the state that kept a mask mandate in place after the state in February lifted its requirement that masks be worn in school, leaving the decision to local leaders. The Boston Public Health Commission advised the removal of masks, Cassellius said, after a recent decline in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, and fewer traces of the virus showing up in the city’s wastewater. (Boston, 6/8)