Minnesota Now Showing ‘Very High’ COVID-19 Levels in Wastewater

I'm old enough to be one of the many kids in life who had "the opportunity" to go to a chickenpox party.  It wasn't really called that, and trust me, it was no party, but the purpose was to expose our little kid bodies to the virus that would put spots all over us.  And boy, did it!  I was one of the lucky ones that also got a fever, everything in my body ached, and I had puss-filled sores in my hair, ears, mouth, feet...you name the body part, I had red, itchy spots on them.  I will NEVER forget how sick I was from that "party".

A few weeks ago, I didn't break out in spots but I had all of the other symptoms.  Just to move my mouth to open it a tiny bit hurt...and it all started with a scratchy throat.

Nasty illness going around Minnesota right now...and it has been starting with a scratchy throat

I can name on one hand the times I felt the absolute worst in life and they are in this order:

1. The week before my almost gangrene gallbladder was removed (Do NOT Recommend!)
2. Chickenpox (forced by my mom who made me go to a chicken pox party), and
3. COVID about 3 weeks ago...(and I'm still not 100% yet)

I know we don't want to talk about COVID anymore but I wanted to let you know that this latest round is not a fun one.  Unfortunately, people are not testing, they are showing up places while they have symptoms, and this is spreading.  And we know it is spreading based on some of the latest results from the CDC.

Wastewater Viral Activity Level for COVID-19 is Very High in Minnesota

This is really disgusting to think about, and I would really hate this job, but someone out there is monitoring our sewage.  They are looking for a few specific viruses in our fecal matter including COVID-19, flu, and RSV, which then shows what the activity levels are at for the community.

According to the CDC, this type of "monitoring may provide an early warning that levels of infections are increasing or decreasing in your community, even when people don't have symptoms".

Based on the latest wastewater testing reported on September 13th, 2024, COVID-19 activity level is at "Very High" activity levels in our wastewater in Minnesota.

Is The New COVID XEC Variant Rising in the United States?

A few months ago, the LB.1 variant was spreading fast in the United States.  Now, it appears that the XEC variant is the new one to watch out for.  According to USAToday.com, "a newly discovered COVID strain known as XEC continues to spread rapidly across multiple countries, including the U.S.COVID XEC symptoms".

Mike Honey on X indicated, "XEC first appeared in Berlin in late June. It has since spread quite rapidly across Europe, North America and Asia. Around 550 samples have now been reported, from 27 countries on 3 continents."

What are the latest COVID-19 symptoms to watch out for?

The CDC continues to share the following information about the symptoms that could appear with COVID-19 between 2 and 14 days after being exposed.  The following symptoms can range from mild to severe:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• Loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

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