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Urgent care centers across the United States are treating a rising number of COVID-19 cases, even among patients who say they tested negative at home. Nick Karr, MD, CEO and founder of Citra Urgent Care, noted as many as 20% of patients seeking care at the company’s seven locations in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, area, are testing positive, as reported by Fox 4. Texas had a 32% week-over-week increase in cases recently with hospitalizations rising to 1,200 patients. Across the nation, the federal COVID Data Tracker reported a 15.7% increase in hospitalizations and 17.6% increase in deaths for the week ending August 26, 2023.
What to think about: Experts believe home testing kits may not be able to detect the latest variant of the SARS-CoV-2Â virus. Consider testing for COVID-19 in patients with typical symptoms, especially now that children are back to school, and families are returning from Labor Day weekend travel.