CDC: GF at yellow/medium COVID-19 transmission level

The latest Grand Forks Health Officer’s Dashboard is out… and according to the new CDC transmission indicators, Grand Forks is currently at a “yellow” or medium transmission level for COVID-19. 

Michael Dulitz of Grand Forks Public Health says the move from green to yellow is due to increasing case rates. 

Grand Forks County reports 180 new cases for the week ending Thursday. That’s up 26 from the previous week, and 61 more than in late June.

Dulitz says hospitalizations have remained moderate.

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(From GF Public Health:)

According to the new CDC transmission indicators, we are currently at a medium transmission level. 

• The move to yellow by the CDC is due to increasing case rates.  Hospitalizations have remained moderate, fitting the pattern we have previously seen with the decoupling of hospitalization, case, and death rates since the Omicron outbreak.
• Anecdotally, this decoupling is seen in most places, but regional differences in hospitalizations is evident, particularly in Florida where comparable case rate increases are coupled with significantly higher hospitalization rates than much of the United States.
• Locally, the move to increased home testing is limiting the full detection of the number of cases, but reported tests have modestly increased and have been coupled with increases in case counts, and fairly significant increases in percent positivity.
• In accordance with CDC guidance, over the next few weeks it will be useful to examine hospitalization trends both locally and nationally to see how this new outbreak is impacting the public. If hospitalizations increase, guidance would suggest a return to voluntary mask usage in indoor settings.
• • Grand Forks has traditionally had lower COVID hospitalization rates than much of the state and region. Therefore, any move into the high risk category should be relatively brief, though delays in data reporting to the CDC and out to the public may increase this time frame.