*And by D.C., I mean Alexandria, VA, because the publicly available D.C. data can’t really be easily understood and don’t seem to be collected anymore.

We had another significant increase this week:

With an increase from 736 copies/ml to 817 copies/ml, we’re eight times higher than the mid-June 2023 nadir and at two-thirds of the January 2023 season peak. That probably means around 1 – 1.5 percent of people are currently infected (though that’s a very rough estimate because we’re not collecting the right prevalence data).

Meanwhile in Anne Arundel County, MD, which has comparable COVID wastewater concentrations to Alexandria, there was no slowdown whatsoever. That’s not encouraging.

If you’re at a large-ish gathering, it’s definitely a good idea to mask up, not just to protect yourself, but to protect others too. Remember, you’re not the weirdo if you’re still trying to avoid getting (re)infected.