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Nirav Shah: Wastewater data show COVID may be on the rise again in Maine
lthough COVID-19 cases have fallen from a pandemic-high reported in January 2022, there is some evidence that the virus may be on the rise again.
Surveillance data show that there has been an increase in viral RNA in wastewater over the past 15 days, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Wastewater surveillance results showed uniform increases in viral levels across the state,” Nirav Shah, the director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention tweeted on Tuesday. “This is different from the episodic spikes we’ve seen before.”
A record high of 10,968 COVID cases were reported on Feb. 15, which was when the state started working through a backlog of more than 50,000 cases.
Data collected through March 31 show that virus concentrations in Bangor wastewater have increased to levels similar to those reported around mid-February.