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After a long summer surge that peaked in August, COVID-19 activity continues to decline in most areas, with further downward trends seen in wastewater detections, test positivity, emergency room visits and hospitalizations, the U.S. centers said for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ) said today in its latest updates on respiratory viruses.

The number of deaths remains at a low level. According to preliminary data from the CDC, 341 deaths were reported last week.

According to CDC data, wastewater detections remain at low levels nationwide, but detections in the West and Midwest are slightly higher than other regions. Likewise, WastewaterSCAN, a national wastewater monitoring system at Stanford University in collaboration with Emory University, said its monitoring has the country at a moderate level, with a downward trend over the past three weeks. The south and the west are now in the lower category, it said.

The XEC variant is still on the rise

In today's updated variant share estimates, the CDC said KP.3.1.1 is still dominant and accounts for 57% of viruses, similar to last week. However, the proportion of XEC – a recombination of two JN.1 viruses – continues to rise steadily, accounting for an estimated 17% of viruses, up from 10% two weeks ago. XEC has mutations that are thought to increase infectivity and evade the immune response. Because the variant is derived from JN.1 viruses, the CDC said vaccines are likely to provide protection because they contain a JN.1 strain.

In its weekly overview of respiratory viruses, the CDC said it expects a higher COVID peak in the winter than in the summer, similar to COVID trends over the past four years.

Flu activity, meanwhile, is minimal, the CDC said. And respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity remains low nationwide, but there are signs of increased activity in the Southeast, particularly in young children.