TallGuyJohninBKK

Not surprisingly, @realmuckraker looks to be a right-wing group that's into conspiracy theories and is featured on similarly dubious sources such as Jesse Watters on Fox News, OANN and conspiracy theory promoter Alex Jones! Considering the company they keep, I'd take anything they have to say with a very LARGE grain of salt. An example of the kind of bogus work done by Muckraker.com and the Oversight Project was reported earlier this year by NPR: A flyer in her name told migrants to vote for Biden. But she says she didn't write it May 10, 2024 ... "In an interview with NPR, both Howell and the social media influencer who collaborated on the thread acknowledged that they did not try to verify with Zavala whether she or anyone at RCM created the flyers before they posted on X. (You can read or watch NPR's interview with the Oversight Project here.) ... Behind the thread The Heritage thread says the flyer was discovered by Muckraker, a right-wing video site. Anthony Rubin, the site's founder, often uses undercover tactics in his videos. He has traveled across Latin America to film migrants in transit to the United States. He portrays them as an "invasion" and has appeared as a guest on outlets that have spread conspiracy theories, including Alex Jones' Infowars. Juries in Connecticut and Texas ordered Jones to pay a combined $1.5 billion to the families of victims of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., for falsely claiming the shooting was a hoax. ... It is already illegal for noncitizens to cast ballots in federal elections, and studies have repeatedly shown it is rare. https://www.npr.org/2024/05/01/1248599505/migrants-vote-biden-conspiracy-theory-social-media

The WHO today revised their Olympics announcement from yesterday, saying that their 40+ Olympic athletes number involved athletes who had tested positive for COVID [added] or other respiratory illnesses." Wednesday, 07 August 2024 Clarification: COVID-19 and the Paris 2024 Olympics "As of 6 August 2024, WHO’s event-based surveillance system, which scans reports from media and other verified sources, had reported that at least 40 Olympic athletes had tested positive for COVID-19 or other respiratory illnesses. We are clarifying remarks WHO made to the media on 6 August indicating that at least 40 athletes had tested positive for COVID-19. We apologize for the confusion. WHO has been working closely with the International Olympic Committee and the Government of France to protect the health and well-being of the 10,714 athletes, as well as spectators, during the Games." Source: The original WHO announcement, done via a United Nations news release, is linked below: https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/08/1152866

South Korea’s Covid-19 hospitalisation cases surge fivefold in 3 weeks Aug 02, 2024 SEOUL - The number of patients hospitalised in South Korea after being diagnosed with Covid-19 surged fivefold in three weeks to late July, government data showed on Aug 2. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the number of inpatients diagnosed with Covid-19 during the fourth week of July reached 465, up over five times from the first week of the month at 91. Through the first four weeks of July, 929 patients were hospitalised for the highly contagious disease affecting the human respiratory system, data showed. ... The Covid-19 disease claimed the lives of 35,934 people in the country from January 2020 to August 2023, as over 34.5 million people were infected during the same period, in a country home to some 51 million. (more) https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-korea-s-covid-19-hospitalisation-cases-surge-fivefold-in-3-weeks https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20240802050595&ACE_SEARCH=1

Hmm.. And yet here you are regularly reading and posting about COVID topics that you seem to be professing to not care about.... PS - COVID was NOT "years ago now" to the 400+ Americans who are dying every week from COVID right now, or the 200+ people in England likewise dying per week from COVID, or the thousands more in those places and elsewhere still being hospitalized from it. Some people, including many here on the forum, want to put COVID out of sight and out of mind, wishing it to be only a bad memory. But the COVID virus has other plans on that score. Are things better now than they were at the worst time of the pandemic? Absolutely yes. Has life everywhere returned to normal where there's no reason to be concerned about COVID and its continuing impacts of deaths, hospitalizations, and long-term health problems from Long COVID? To anyone paying attention to the realities of things, absolutely no.

There remains a lot that is unknown about just how the new, already enacted Thai Revenue Department taxation scheme will operate for foreigners.... But some things are known pretty well, and others remain unconfirmed speculation at this point: AFAIK, some pretty well confirmed things (and I'm doing this off the cuff, so correct me if I go astray): --Savings accrued abroad prior to the start of 2024 should not be taxable if remitted into Thailand, no matter when that remittance occurs. --Ongoing types of income excluded from Thai taxation under different countries' joint tax treaties with Thailand likewise should be exempted, but those income types vary by country/treaty, and the actual means of applying those treaty-based exclusions remains unclear. --At present, there's nothing in the Thai Immigration realm of things -- at least for the typical marriage and retirement extension holders -- that requires those foreigners to show proof of having filed Thai tax returns. Less clear details: --the consensus of local tax professionals here seems to be that foreign transfers into Thai bank accounts likely will be the first and primary place that the Revenue Department likely will look to as sources of taxable foreign remittances. --some local tax professionals have expressed their opinions that ATM withdrawals and purchases made here with foreign bank cards likely would not be tracked by the Thai Revenue Department as sources of taxable remitted foreign income. But I don't believe there's any RD regulation thus far saying that or clarifying their stance on that general topic. --there's been a lot of discussion about the tax exclusion provisions in the Thai Revenue Code for gifts to spouses. Just how those provisions might operate for foreigners regarding remittance of foreign income remains unclear. And some local tax professionals have been advising that gaining a tax exclusion via that method likely won't be as simple as just transferring funds to a Thai spouse. ------------------ And, all of the above already enacted tax policy and regulation centered on foreign remittances into Thailand is separate from the subsequently aired future PROPOSAL (not enacted thus far) to apply Thai tax on worldwide income for those who are Thai tax residents, meaning those who live here more than half of the calendar year. Regardless of whether those foreign earnings are remitted into Thailand or not.

Right now, without anything getting worse.... as reported and sourced elsewhere in this subforum: --US COVID deaths are running more than 400 per week and rising, along with estimates of nearly 1 million new infections daily. --England COVID deaths are running more than 200 per week and rising. --Taiwan COVID deaths are running about 100 per week. All part of what has become the evolving pattern of twice a year seasonal COVID surges coming in the summer periods and again at year's end. Then add on top of that the uncertainty of what future / evolving variants of COVID may bring. As reported in the OP article: “I am concerned”, the top WHO COVID specialist said. “With such low [up-to-date vaccination] coverage and with such large circulation, if we were to have a variant that would be more severe, then the susceptibility of the at-risk populations to develop severe disease is huge,” Dr. Van Kerkhove warned.

How quickly some forget... or at least try to... "Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the [2020 Summer Olympics in Japan] event was postponed to 2021 on 24 March 2020 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic... ... Public support for the Games in Japan decreased significantly amid a 2021 surge in COVID-19 cases in the country.[58] Multiple organizations of medical professionals voiced oppositions to the Games,[52][59][60] while an opinion poll in April 2021 saw 40% of participants support the cancellation of the Games, and 33% support a second postponement.[61] In May 2021, 83% of those polled supported the cancellation or postponement of the Games.[62] The Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association called for the cancellation, stating that hospitals in Tokyo "have their hands full and have almost no spare capacity" in an open letter to the prime minister.[63]" At the time, instead of canceling the games, the IOC and authorities in Japan ultimately agreed that all events in Tokyo were to be held behind closed doors with no spectators due to a new locally declared state of emergency at the time due to COVID. And international spectators were banned as well. The postponed Games ran from July 23 to August 8, 2021. And even so..... "Once the Tokyo Olympics were underway, followed by the Tokyo Paralympics, there was a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in Japan, especially those caused by the Delta variant. On 26 July, there were 60,157 cases detected in Japan, breaking the record of 44,961 cases recorded on 10 May. On 9 August, one day after the Olympics had ended, daily cases in Japan reached 100,000 for the first time, and new cases continued to increase until the peak on 23 August, when 156,931 cases were recorded.[86]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_Summer_Olympics Current COVID hospitalizations in Japan just before the start of the delayed Olympics: Current COVID hospitalizations in Japan several weeks after the conclusion of the delayed Olympics: Source: The number of hospitalized COVID patients in Japan almost tripled over that period, and that was with all the many restrictions that were imposed at the time, including totally banning overseas spectators and holding no spectator events at Tokyo venues in an effort to lessen the spread of the pandemic at the time. At the start of the delayed Olympics, Japan had already recorded more than 15,000 COVID deaths since the start of of COVID in early 2020. And the COVID death toll only went up from there onward. Source:

Swimming-UK's Peaty back in action after worst of weeks with COVID Updated Aug 03, 2024 PARIS - Adam Peaty returned to the Olympic pool on Saturday after what he described as the worst week of his life recovering from COVID. The triple gold medallist, who went into isolation after taking silver in last Sunday's 100 metres breaststroke, helped Britain reach the final of the men's 4x100 medley relay at the La Defense Arena. ... The 29-year-old said he got back in the pool on Wednesday night but was still not symptom-free and was now struggling with an ear infection. "It's probably the worst week of my life in terms of how my body is, and that's no exaggeration," he said. "Everything's come at once. Since COVID, it's just every day waking up with a different thing." (more) https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/swimming-peaty-back-in-action-after-worst-of-weeks-with-covid

Olympics sees 40-plus Covid cases as global infections rise: WHO August 6, 2024 More than 40 athletes at the Paris Olympics have tested positive for Covid-19, highlighting a new global rise in cases as vaccination coverage plunges, the World Health Organization said Tuesday. The WHO said the virus behind the Covid-19 pandemic was still circulating -- and countries need to sharpen up their response systems and get jabbing those most at risk. Several high profile athletes have suffered from Covid-19 at the 2024 Paris Games. British swimmer Adam Peaty tested positive a day after winning silver in the 100m breaststroke when he had not felt well, his team said. Australian medal hope Lani Pallister pulled out of the women's 1500m freestyle after falling ill. (more) https://www.yahoo.com/news/olympics-sees-40-plus-covid-121844322.html

6 August 2024 COVID-19 infections are surging worldwide - including at the Olympics - and are unlikely to decline anytime soon, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday. The UN health agency is also concerned that more severe variants of the coronavirus may soon be on the horizon. “COVID-19 is still very much with us,” and circulating in all countries, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove of WHO told journalists in Geneva. Testing positive "Data from our sentinel-based surveillance system across 84 countries reports that the percent of positive tests for SARS-CoV-2 has been rising over several weeks," she said. "Overall, test positivity is above 10 per cent, but this fluctuates per region. In Europe, percent positivity is above 20 per cent," she added. New waves of infection have been registered in the Americas, Europe and the western Pacific. Wastewater surveillance suggests the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 is from two to 20 times higher than current figures suggest. (more) https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/08/1152866

The domestic COVID-19 epidemic is declining, but it is still in the epidemic period: Taiwan CDC 08/06/2024 Week Ending -- Severe COVID cases -- COVID Deaths June 17 -- 624 -- N/A June 24 -- 817 -- 40 July 1 -- 932 -- 64 July 8 -- 987 -- 99 July 15 -- 896 (revised) -- 104 July 22 -- 773 -- 124 July 29 -- 584 -- 90 Aug. 5 -- 446 -- 104 "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that the domestic COVID-19 epidemic situation is declining, but it is still in the epidemic period and the number of severe cases and deaths is still high. It is necessary to pay attention to the risk of serious illness. It is expected to be out of the epidemic period in late August. ... The CDC pointed out that the global COVID-19 positivity rate continues to rise, with increases in Africa, Europe, the Americas, Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific, and fluctuations in the Eastern Mediterranean region. In some countries, such as Japan, the number of cases has increased for 12 consecutive weeks, and the positivity rate and emergency department in the United States have increased. The rate of medical treatment continues to rise, and the number of cases in Russia, Greece, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, China, Malaysia and Thailand is still high." ... As the epidemic at home and abroad continues, and more than 91% of confirmed domestic complications and deaths have not been vaccinated against COVID-19, we call on those who have not yet been vaccinated against COVID-19 to get vaccinated as soon as possible." Source: Taiwan CDC

The misleading OP headline in this thread... by the reference to "2 months before early voting" implies the issues in this report have something to do with the upcoming presidential election... When in fact, the OP EDITORIAL, not news report, by the right-wing, relentlessly pro-Republican and Trump NY Post makes no mention of any voting issues at all, nor does the underlying Post news report that led to the editorial. And of course there's a good reason for that: Who cannot vote? Non-citizens, including permanent legal residents, cannot vote in federal, state, and most local elections. [emphasis added] You can vote in U.S. federal, state, and local elections if you: Are a U.S. citizen (some areas allow non-citizens to vote in local elections only) https://www.usa.gov/who-can-vote

Thailand MoPH Weekly COVID report for July 28 - Aug. 3, 2024: For the most recent week, the MoPH update showed continuing improvements / declines in all four publicly reported COVID indicators -- new COVID hospitalizations, deaths, currently hospitalized COVID patients in serious condition and those requiring ventilation to breathe. The latest update is another clear sign that Thailand's spring 2024 COVID surge has now subsided. --560 new COVID hospitalizations, averaging 80 per day, down 368 / -39.7% from 928 the prior week --1 new COVID deaths, down 1 / -50% from 2 the prior week --447 current COVID patients hospitalized in serious condition (pneumonia symptoms), down 66 / -12.9% from 513 the prior week (dark purple) --184 current COVID patients hospitalized requiring intubation/ventilation to breathe, down 39 / -17.5% from 223 the prior week (light purple) --------------------------------------- The reported 560 new COVID hospitalizations last week marked almost a return to the 501 level that occurred in mid-March just prior to what became Thailand's spring 2024 COVID surge, and is almost one-sixth of the recent weekly peak of 3,256 new hospitalizations reached in late June. Cumulative officially reported figures since the start of 2024 are COVID hospitalizations (36,141) & COVID deaths (194). The one new official COVID death reported for last week was a male age 60-69. https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main The weekly new COVID hospitalization totals since this year's spring surge began in mid-March have been: March 16 -- 501 March 23 -- 630 March 30 -- 728 April 6 -- 774 April 13 -- 849 April 20 -- 1,004 April 27 -- 1,672 May 4 -- 1,792 May 11 -- 1,880 May 18 - 1,882 May 25 -- 1,801 June 1 -- 1,863 June 8 -- 2,762 June 15 -- 2,881 June 22 -- 1,823 June 29 -- 3,256 July 6 -- 1,377 July 13 -- 1,004 July 20 -- 1,067 July 27 -- 928 Aug. 3 -- 560 By comparison, Thailand's key weekly COVID indicators to start 2024 were 664 new COVID hospitalizations and 4 COVID deaths for the first week of the year. For the comparable week last year in 2023, there were 268 new COVID hospitalizations and 12 COVID deaths.

From the actual IG's report... and Customs and Border Protection's response to it: The IG report includes the following: "The Department of State (DoS) issues nonimmigrant visas to individuals seeking entry into the United States on a temporary basis for tourism, medical treatment, business, temporary work, study, or other reasons. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and to address staffing limitations and visa backlogs, Dos and the Department of Homeland Security agreed to expand DoS' authorities to waive requirements to conduct consular interviews and collect fingerprints for some individuals seeking nonimmigrant visas. ... "According to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 2023 (1NA), as amended, nonimmigrant visa applicants aged 14 through 79 generally must be interviewed by a consular officer.2 The Secretary of State may waive this requirement for travelers in certain visa categories.3 [emphasis added] ... "Dos, in concurrence with OHS, waived in-person interviews for approximately 7.1 million applicants for nonimmigrant visas from FY 2020 through FY 2023." The IG's report doesn't challenge the granting of interview waivers or argue they should be ceased/halted. Rather, the IG report only contends that there should be a better information flow to fully inform Customs and Border Protection officers at entry points of those cases where DOS in-person interviews did not / have not occurred. In response to the audit report, Customs and Border Protection agreed to the IG's two primary recommendations to improve the information flow issues, but disagreed about the impacts of granting visa interview waivers, as the IG summarized below: Nowhere in the report is there any mention made of either President Biden or Vice President Harris. The blacked out portions in the report excerpt above are as shown in the source document. https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2024-06/OIG-24-33-Jun24-mgmtalert-Redacted.pdf

Rick, indeed, good to use home country bank cards that do NOT have any foreign currency fees... About your counter withdrawals, does your U.S. credit card also have no flat fee transaction charge when used for cash advances? I know of a couple U.S. credit unions that have credit card products with no cash advance fees. But those are very uncommon in the U.S. credit card market....

The new website, predictably, looks to be entirely in TH language with no EN or other language options, other than using Google Translate. Good job!!! 😞

It really would depend on the specific hospital in question and their policies / practices toward tourists / expats. I always ask for, and am provided, a detailed billing statement in EN of just what I'm being charged for and at what prices... Though I usually have to make a specific request when paying the bill to get that. Oddly, the private hospitals almost never seem to voluntarily provide that, absent a specific request. Normally, in my experience, a hospital staff assisting with language translation issues with other TH-only speaking hospital staff wouldn't involve any extra charges. However, if someone requested or was assigned some kind of specialized nursing service for some reason, that most certainly would trigger added charges. Also, in general, there are well-established policies and practices at various private hospitals whereby tourists and/or expats are charged higher prices than Thai nationals would be for the same exact medical services....

Several of the international hospitals I've used in BKK thru the years have specific staff units inhouse aimed at serving international / expat patients, sometimes called International Relations or something similar. The ones I've encountered typically have multilingual translation capability available, either inhouse or on-call. I've never encountered those hospitals charging extra / separately when those hospital staff are called to assist an international / expat patient with language or other support needs. And I'm familiar with that in an outpatient setting. I believe that same kind of assistance would generally be available, assuming the hospital provided it, to inpatients as well..... But separate from that, I believe I have seen in the past where some private hospitals in BKK have offered higher level rooms with supposedly dedicated EN or other language nursing care at higher prices than would otherwise be the case.

U.S. folks, and expats in general, I think need to be cautious about using foreign country credit cards to make counter withdrawals here. One reason for that is that, AFAIK, most U.S.-based credit cards will treat that kind of transaction as a cash advance on the card. And cash advances on U.S. credit cards typically carry a flat percentage transaction fee (like a 5% of the advanced amount) plus usually a much higher interest rate if the balance is carried over. There also could be additional/normal foreign currency conversion fees, depending on the card. There are a few U.S. credit cards that don't charge cash advance fees and don't charge foreign currency conversion fees, but those are in the vast minority. And to the best of my knowledge, the credit cards typically issued by the various U.S. mega-banks don't typically carry those advantages. At least with a U.S. debit card, there's not going to be any cash advance surcharge, and no card interest accruing on the balance to worry about. Some Thai banks will do the same kind of counter withdrawal transaction using a foreign VISA or MC debit card, though others won't. Here's an example of the kinds of cash advance fees charged involving one Bank of America credit card: Source:

Is there a COVID outbreak at the Olympics? At least 10 athletes test positive in one week At least ten athletes, including British swimmer Adam Peaty and Australian swimmer Lani Pallister, have tested positive for COVID-19. What safety protocols are at the Olympics? Aug. 3, 2024 At least 10 athletes competing at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics — including swimmers from multiple countries and five Australian water polo players — have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week. The uptick in cases has raised questions around the measures in place to stop the spread of COVID at the Olympics. This year's Games are considered the first post-pandemic Olympics. Unlike the postponed 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, there are no strict protocols or restrictions around COVID-19 in Paris. However, COVID-19 is still spreading around the world. The United States is facing a summer wave, and the virus is also spreading in Europe, including in the Olympic Village. ... Have any Team USA Olympians gotten COVID? Asked if any Team USA swimmers had tested positive for COVID, a USA Swimming spokesperson tells TODAY.com via email: "We don’t share athlete health information publicly." (more) https://www.today.com/health/coronavirus/covid-olympics-2024-rcna164070 Why Olympians Who Have COVID-19 Can Still Compete in Paris August 1, 2024 ... the rules surrounding COVID-19—including vaccination recommendations, who gets tested, isolation procedures, and masking guidance—are very different at the Paris Games than they were during the Tokyo Olympics. In Tokyo, in the summer of 2021, athletes—and the media who had contact with them in interview zones—were tested regularly. Anyone testing positive was immediately isolated and remained separated from others until they tested negative. While vaccination wasn’t mandated, most national Olympic sports organizations, including the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), strongly recommended that athletes be up-to-date with their COVID-19 shot. Officials also conducted temperature checks for anyone entering any competition to monitor for fevers, one symptom of an infection. To further limit the possibility of an outbreak, no spectators were allowed at those Games. In Paris, the fans are back, virtually none of them wearing masks, and there is no regular testing of athletes. A spokesperson for the USOPC said in emailed responses to questions from TIME that American athletes are generally tested only if they have symptoms such as a persistent cough, fever, or sore throat, or if they are just generally feel unwell, and COVID-19 is being treated like any other respiratory illness such as the cold or flu. That means there is no rule preventing athletes from training or competing, just as there isn’t anything from stopping someone with the sniffles or a stuffy nose. To protect other Olympians, however, since athletes share rooms and countries occupy the same living space in the Olympic Village, if athletes test positive, they are generally moved to a single room to limit the chance of getting others sick. The USOPC is also arranging for separate transportation for them to and from practices and events and delivering their meals so they won’t need to be in the public dining hall. Medical clinics at the Olympics also have isolation rooms to accommodate people who test positive. (more) https://time.com/7006533/covid-19-athletes-paris-olympics/

Thanks for that update and news! In the old days, Krungsri and TMB used to be the two Thai banking companies I relied on for 30K baht ATM machines.... But once TMB merged into becoming TTB, I had no idea whether the new entity still kept that same policy for their legacy TMB ATM machines. Do you know / does that mean that ATMs that formerly belonged to the other party in that merger, Thanachart, now still have a lower per withdrawal limit? I don't think Thanachart was in the 30K club before... "TMBThanachart Bank Public Company Limited (“TTB”) is a business merger between TMB Bank Public Company Limited (“TMB”) and Thanachart Bank Public Company Limited (“Thanachart”) to bring about the unique strengths of TMB and Thanachart to raise financial well-being for Thai people. In this regard, the Company is one of the major shareholders of TTB with the equity stake of more than 20 percent and at the level which allows the Company to participate in the conduct of business of TTB." https://www.thanachart.co.th/en/thanachart-group/associated-companies/tmbthanachart-bank

As I mentioned above, some U.S. financial entities will allow their accountholders, upon request, a temporary (one-day?) increase / waiver of the normal card daily withdrawal limit. I wouldn't be surprised if Schwab might allow that kind of request. But as a general proposition, I try to keep my Thailand ATM transaction activity entirely separate from / away from my U.S. brokerage accounts and related cash accounts.

Most Thai banks I'm familiar with allow the accountholder to set varying maximum amounts of ATM cash that can be withdrawn PER DAY. In my experience, those options can range from very low amounts up to quite huge amounts into the hundreds of thousands of baht PER DAY. Those PER DAY withdrawal limits are separate from the physical limits that banks set for their ATM machines, which typically allow a maximum of anywhere from 25 to 30 bills PER TRANSACTION. Those machine-based per transaction limits are NOT adjustable in any way by the card holder.

Government accepts advice on 2024 autumn COVID-19 vaccine programme Minister Andrew Gwynne has accepted advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). 2 August 2024 The government has accepted advice from the JCVI for an autumn COVID-19 vaccination programme this year. ... On the advice of the expert JCVI all those aged 65 or over, all those in care homes for older people, and those aged 6 months or over who are in a clinical risk group will be eligible for vaccination this autumn. Vaccination offers the best protection for those at risk of serious outcomes through older age or clinical condition. Protection against serious disease wanes over time so it is important to top it up by getting an autumn dose if you are eligible. ... The JCVI has not advised offering the vaccine to frontline health and social care workers, staff in care homes for older adults, unpaid carers and household contacts of people with immunosuppression as part of the national programme. (more) https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-accepts-advice-on-2024-autumn-covid-vaccine-programme

Where is COVID-19 spreading? These states have the highest COVID rates Updated Aug. 3, 2024 The United States is in the midst of a summer wave of COVID-19 fueled by highly contagious, new variants sweeping the country from coast to coast. As summer travel peaks, experts are warning people to take precautions to stop the spread, no matter the COVID rates in your state. Currently, levels of COVID found in wastewater are considered “high” nationally, for the first time since last winter. What's more, 44 states have "high" or "very high" levels individually, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The West and South are being hit especially hard. ... Cases may keep rising through the rest of the year, according to Michael Hoerger, Ph.D., assistant professor at Tulane University School of Medicine who leads the Pandemic Mitigation Collaborative’s data tracker. His models show the current wave is likely to peak on Sept. 11 at around 1.2 million new cases a day. (He uses wastewater data from Biobot Analytics, which used to provide the CDC its data.) (more) https://www.today.com/health/coronavirus/states-with-highest-covid-rates-2024-rcna163403 https://pmc19.com/data/PMC_Report_Aug02_2024.pdf