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Forecast Estimates Show COVID Infections Rise Near March 2020 Levels

Forecast for U.S. COVID-19 infection continue to rise to 2020 levels as the nation enters the fall season.

Posted September 20, 2023

COVID-19 cases are slowly creeping toward levels seen in 2020, according to wastewater surveillance and modeling by forecasters.

In an update posted earlier this month, Jay Weiland, a COVID modeler, estimated that 650,000 Americans are becoming infected daily, with 1 in 51 Americans currently infected with COVID, according to a post made on X, formerly Twitter.

The U.S. population will continue to see a 7 to 10 percent increase in October, Weiland predicted.

U.S. cases are slowing down, however, the slow growth could change trajectory as the fall and winter surge occurs, Fortune writer Erin Prater reported.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization urges those with a high risk of infection to seek new booster. Total hospitalizations increased by 9 percent from August 27 through September 2, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC announced Americans, ages 6 months and older, can receive an updated COVID booster which targets the XBB Omicron strain.