‘Very high’ COVID levels detected in 7 states

Coronavirus levels in California’s wastewater have reached a “very high” level for the first time since last winter.

The Golden State was one of seven states with “very high” levels. The others were Arkansas, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon and Texas.

In Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous, coronavirus levels in wastewater have also increased.

Two new COVID variants, known as FLiRT, areresponsible for more than half of the latest rise in cases.

· 10-day period that ended on June 29, the most recent data available from the county’s health department, COVID levels in the county were at 27% of last winter’s peak.

· That’s a significant increase from a dataset ending on June 26 when the county was just at 17%.

· Overall, coronavirus levels have increased nationwide, indicating a summer trend continuing to grow.

· Experts have found that the latest variants are highly transmissible but don’t cause more severe disease. ·