There are currently more than 9,747 patients hospitalized in the United States per week, with 16% of those being ICU patients. The test positivity rate for the week of June 2-8 was 7.2%. When test positivity is above 5%, transmission is considered uncontrolled.
Since many are using home tests that are not reported through public health or are not testing at all, the official case counts underestimate the actual prevalence of COVID-19.
What COVID-19 variant are we on?
Currently, the dominant variant nationwide is XBB.1.5, with 39.9% of cases, followed by XBB.1.16, with 18.2% of cases, and XBB.1.9.1 with 12.5% of cases. “The original omicron variant is gone now,” says Dr. Rupp. “Currently subvariants of omicron are circulating, including XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16 and XBB.1.9.1.”
Which COVID-19 variant do I have? And do COVID-19 tests tell you the variant?
When you receive a COVID-19 test, you won’t find out which variant caused your infection. That’s because COVID-19 tests only detect the presence of the virus – they don’t determine the variant.
Genomic sequencing looks at the genetic code of the virus to determine which variant caused the infection.
Nebraska DHHS sequences test samples after a positive test is identified and reports the total percentage of each variant every two weeks. See the latest genomic surveillance report for Nebraska. Sequencing results are used by public health experts to understand variant trends in the community.