Central California experienced a “very high” COVID-19 test positivity level during August, one of several regions where the virus has been increasingly detected in recent weeks.

From Aug. 17-23, Central California saw a COVID-19 test positivity of 18.4%, a nearly 3% increase from the week prior, according to data from the California Department of Public Health . Since early July, the percentage of lab detections of COVID-19 has increased for Central California, even surpassing figures for the same period last year.

The United States has seen a steady increase in the percentage of COVID-19 test positivity since late July, according to data from the National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System and published on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website. In r

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