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COVID-19 cases have been on the rise nationwide this summer, and now wastewater monitoring data suggests a further increase may be underway in the Western part of the U.S.

The CDC has updated its wastewater monitoring website to report that the virus that causes COVID, called SARS-CoV-2, is being detected at high levels in some Western states. The Western reporting region includes 13 states and one territory: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

The new report of increased COVID activity comes as the busy Fourth of July holiday travel period gets underway. Wearing a well-fitting mask in crowded indoor places remains on the CDC’s COVID prevention tip sheet, in addition to staying up-to-date on vaccinations and practicing good hygiene.

Wastewater virus detection is considered a bellwether for some infectious diseases because it can indicate person-to-person viral spread before testing trends, since people who are sick tend to wait to go to the doctor or hospital. Also, wastewater monitoring can show trends when people are infected with a virus and do not have symptoms. COVID symptoms typically appear between 2 and 14 days after exposure. Head over to WebMD to read the full story.