Summer Covid surge hits Washington state

Washington state is once again in the midst of a slight Covid-19 surge.

It's an indication that Covid is not yet acting like a seasonal respiratory virus, like flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which show up each year in the fall and winter.

The current uptick in Washington is nowhere near as big as the surges we've seen in past years. But it's still a relatively large increase over recent low levels.

The state’s virus dashboard shows emergency department (ED) visits up by about a third at the very end of May and the start of June. Hospitalizations are also rising.