Here are the latest national COVID-19 trends, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and major wastewater surveillance providers:
- About 1.6 in every 100,000 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 during the week ending April 5
- COVID-19 test positivity decreased slightly, from 3.6% of COVID-19 tests returning positive results during the week ending April 5 to 3.4% of tests returning positive results during the week ending April 12.
- SARS-CoV-2 concentration in wastewater has decreased 16% between the week ending April 5 and the week ending April 12, and the national wastewater viral activity level is “low,” per the CDC.
- SARS-CoV-2 concentration in wastewater has decreased 19% between April 2 and April 9, and the national wastewater trend is “medium,” per WastewaterSCAN.
National COVID-19 metrics in the U.S. reported slight declines this week, indicating that we’re still in a moderate disease period between surges. SARS-CoV-2 levels appear to be trending back down in the Northeast following recent increases. Even in these “lower-risk” periods, COVID-19 still causes hundreds of deaths each week — a fact that government leaders continue to downplay.
The three major wastewater data providers (the CDC, WastewaterSCAN, and Biobot Analytics) are all in agreement that, on average, SARS-CoV-2 levels in the U.S. are on the decline. After reporting small increases for a couple of weeks, WWCAN reported a decrease of almost 20% between April 2 and April 9. The CDC also reported a steeper decrease for the week ending April 12 than it had for several weeks prior.
Healthcare system metrics show a similar picture. National test positivity and emergency department visits (from testing labs and hospitals in CDC surveillance networks) have both slowly but surely declined in recent weeks; test positivity finally broke out of the 3.6% to 3.8% range, with 3.4% reported for the week ending April 12.
By region: it seems SARS-CoV-2 levels in the Northeast are now trending back down or staying consistent, after a brief period of increases at some sewage testing sites. WWSCAN, the CDC, and Biobot all report declines for this region in their most recent weeks of data. However, it’s worth noting that New York City, often an early outbreak site, has not reported new wastewater data since April 1.
There might be some outbreaks brewing on the West Coast and in the Midwest, based on wastewater and emergency department data. The CDC’s disease forecasting center estimates that cases are “likely growing” in two states, Minnesota and Hawaii, as of April 15. Cases are “declining or likely declining” in 23 states and “not changing” in 21 states, per the center.
While COVID-19 took a backseat to the seasonal flu this winter in the mainstream media, both diseases caused a massive burden on our healthcare system. According to the CDC’s estimates, between October 1, 2024 and April 12, 2025, COVID-19 caused 240,000 to 400,000 hospitalizations and 28,000 to 47,000 deaths. Flu caused 600,000 to 1.3 million hospitalizations and 26,000 to 130,000 deaths over the same period. But flu is now on its way out for the spring, and hundreds of people continue to die from COVID-19 each week — plus, the CDC’s estimates do not account for Long COVID.
Rather than addressing this ongoing crisis, the Trump administration is trying to pretend COVID-19 is no longer a threat. In the latest horrors, the administration replaced federal websites like COVID.gov with a page about the lab leak theory, and ordered federal agencies to take down any signs related to COVID-19. Masking up and taking other public health precautions are clear ways to resist these actions.
