There's been an uptick in COVID-19 cases in North Carolina

If you've noticed more people coming down with COVID-19 recently, it's because there's been an upswing in cases once again.

Driving the news: The late-summer spread comes as new variant EG.5 is now the dominant form in the U.S., per CDC estimates — though it's unclear if that variant is directly responsible for the rising numbers.

By the numbers: The average COVID hospitalization rate nationwide rose about 17% between June and July, per the latest available CDC data.

• Hospitalization rates are up 33.6% across North Carolina, according to the CDC.
• With so little testing happening these days compared to the height of the pandemic, hospitalization rates are now one of the best proxies for estimating broader viral spread.

Reality check: In both percentage change and raw terms, nationwide hospitalizations remain far below their pandemic-era peak.

• They're down 82% year over year, and the CDC reports 10,320 overall hospital admissions in the week between July 30-Aug. 5, compared to more than 150,000 in one week in January 2022.

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