DETROIT – Mayor Mike Duggan tested positive for COVID-19 and is now working from home for the time being.
His case comes as public health officials keep a close eye on the latest surge in the United Kingdom.
Read: Michigan Mayor Mike Duggan tests positive for COVID
According to reports, cases have been rising in parts of Europe over the last few weeks. Now the U.K. is getting hit hard, which has many wondering if this new wave will strike the U.S. next.
COVID cases in the united kingdom have reached record levels.
The United Kingdom’s Office of National Statistics reports that about four-point-nine million people have been infected with COVID-19 in the last week.
That works out to around one in every 13 people, the highest since the start of the pandemic.
The surge in cases is mainly being driven by the omicron variant known as BA.2 and comes as the U.K. has dropped most COVID precautions and ended free testing for most.
Hospitalizations and deaths from COVID are also on the rise there but are still low compared to previous periods.
Scientists are also tracking a new variant known as XE, which is a hybrid of the previous omicron strains.
It was first detected in the U.K. on Jan. 19, with more than 600 cases confirmed.
The XE strain is believed to be 10% more contagious than the already highly contagious BA.2.
Meanwhile, officials are sticking to the country’s zero COVID policy in China even as cases skyrocket.
After a weekend of rising cases, 25 million residents of Shanghai have been ordered to complete another round of COVID testing.
The city reported more than 9,000 new infections on Sunday, the highest daily count to date.
Shanghai is under lockdown until Tuesday as officials rush to complete the latest round of tests.
The CDC says the BA.2 variant now makes up 72% of cases in the United States.
Based on what’s happening in Europe, many experts predict the U.S. will see an uptick in cases in the weeks to come, but likely not to the level of the first omicron surge.
