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It’s not over: COVID-19 cases are on the rise again in US – AP

The coming wave – caused by a mutant called BA.2 that’s thought to be about 30% more contagious – will wash across the nation. They worry that hospitalizations, which are already ticking up in some parts of the Northeast, will rise in a growing number of states in the coming weeks. And the case wave will be bigger than it looks, they say, because reported numbers are vast undercounts as more people test at home without reporting their infections or skip testing altogether.

Have We Already Ruined Our Next COVID Summer? – The Atlantic

A lot has changed since last year’s pre-Delta lull, but America can still reclaim some coronavirus-free chill—if it decides to commit.

Covid Live Updates: BA.2 Rise Across U.S. Evident Even With Diminishing Test Data – NYT

Concerns over the subvariant are rising, particularly for the unvaccinated and unboosted. For bereaved U.K. families, the pandemic-party fines for Boris Johnson have unleashed rage.

Is herd immunity for Covid-19 still possible? – CNN

This time last year, the brand new, stunningly effective Covid-19 vaccines were rolling out across the country, injecting a strong note of optimism into the United States’ once fumbling pandemic response.

Renewal of De​​termination That A Public Health Emergency Exists – HHS

As a result of the continued consequences of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, on this date and after consultation with public health officials as necessary, I, Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services, pursuant to the authority vested in me under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act, do hereby renew, effective April 16, 2022, the ​January 31, 2020, determination by former Secretary Alex M. Azar II, that he previously renewed on April 21, 2020, July 23, 2020, October 2, 2020, and January 7, 2021, and that I renewed on April 15, 2021, July 19, 2021, October 15, 2021, and January 14, 2022, that a public health emergency exists and has existed since January 27, 2020, nationwide.

Covid cases in D.C. region quietly rise again, fueled by BA.2 – Washington Post

In a pattern that has been repeated for more than two years, coronavirus cases are rising again in the D.C. region and nationwide, after a brief respite with some of the lowest rates of virus circulation of the pandemic.

To find out where the covid pandemic is headed, look here: The sewer – Washington Post

The first clues appear in sewer water. And those clues are piling up. As the United States enters year three of the coronavirus pandemic, disease trackers are trying to stay one step ahead of the constantly evolving virus — by hunting for it in feces.

WHO is tracking omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants as they spread through Africa and Europe – CNBC

Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are circulating at low levels in several countries within Southern Africa and Europe, according to the World Health Organization.

Shanghai’s covid siege:Food shortages, talking, robots, starving animals – Washington Post

For weeks, China’s most populous city, Shanghai, has been under strict lockdown orders in an effort to control a coronavirus outbreak. Its 25 million residents have been trapped at home, struggling to feed themselves or get medical help for sick family members. Others have been corralled into makeshift quarantine centers and temporary hospitals, unsure when they will be allowed to leave.

‘Too smelly to sleep’: Thirteen days in a Shanghai isolation facility – NYT

After Leona Cheng tested positive for the coronavirus late last month, she was told to pack her bags for a hospital stay. When the ambulance came to her apartment in central Shanghai to pick her up two days later, no one said otherwise.