New Wave of COVID-19 Increasing Cases in Minnesota

COVID is making its rounds again in Minnesota with another wave of sickness.

Health officials are monitoring our sewage, looking for any indicators of the spread of COVID.

Recent wastewater monitoring shows the viral activity level "very high" in Minnesota and the cases of COVID-19 on the upswing.

Data from the St. Cloud area shows the virus levels category in our area is in the 60%-79% range of the highest levels ever detected at our wastewater sites.

Even so, COVID-19 cases are flat in Stearns and Benton Counties while they're increasing in Sherburne County.

Currently, the most cases of COVID nationwide are in The West and Southeast.

READ MORE: CITY OF ST. CLOUD TRACKING COVID THROUGH WASTEWATER

OTHER INDICATORS

For the latest week of national data ending July 13th, Test Positivity -- an early indicator -- was at 12.6% up from 11.4% the week before.

Likewise, emergency room visits where COVID-19 was diagnosed were up from 1.6% from 1.4% the week before.

And Hospitalizations per 100,000 people were up from 2.1 to 2.5.

All this means is your chances of getting COVID are increasing again.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

The Centers for Disease Control recommends its Core Prevention Strategies:

-- Stay current with your vaccines.
-- Practice good hygiene.
-- Take steps for cleaner air.

If you're sick:

-- Take precautions to prevent spreading it.
-- Know when to isolate and when to go back to your normal activities.
-- Seek health care for testing and treatment.

More strategies:

-- Mask up.
-- Put some distance between you and others.
-- Test for COVID-19.

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