COVID cases have been rising in Milwaukee since July. It's the new normal for summertime, experts say.

Rates of COVID-19 are on the rise in the Milwaukee area and the rest of Wisconsin, but experts say we're unlikely to see the kind of widespread infections and hospitalizations seen over the last three summers.

Hospitalizations for COVID have been climbing in Wisconsin every week since mid-July, a sign that infection rates also are on the rise, according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A total of 140 patients with COVID were admitted to a Wisconsin hospital in the week ending Aug. 12, an increase of 32% over the prior week when there were 106 new admissions, according to the CDC data.

That brings the state back to similar hospitalization rates as were seen in May of this year, but far from anything seen last year, when between 400 and 700 COVID patients were admitted every week to hospitals last summer and winter, according to the CDC.

Earlier this summer, hospitalizations for COVID hit their lowest level in Wisconsin since the pandemic began.

The CDC estimates that the omicron subvariant, EG.5, nicknamed "Eris," is now the predominant strain of COVID, accounting for around 20% of infections during a two-week period in August. Other common strains circulating now include the XBB lineage.

Milwaukee County surveillance data also show that COVID cases are on the rise in the county, though it is less clear by how much.

Case counts no longer give a good picture of how much COVID is in the community, said Wisconsin Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ryan Westergaard in a Wednesday briefing with reporters.

That's because most people with the virus now test themselves at home or do not get tested at all. Most people who get tested do not report the results.

Health officials now rely largely on COVID hospitalization data and wastewater testing to gauge how much COVID is in the community.

Summer surges in COVID-19 cases should be expected going forward, experts say

It is important to remember that increases in COVID cases, as we're seeing this summer, are part of a "new normal," experts say. COVID infections tend to rise in the summer, in part, because of summertime travel and heat waves that drive people indoors. New variants have also played a role in previous summer spikes.

"For each summer since the pandemic began, we have had a summer increase of various magnitudes. So, I'm actually not surprised to see it happening now," Leslie Waller, a health department epidemiologist, told the Tennessean earlier this month. "Especially coming off the tail of a really hot period where people were spending a lot of time indoors, not having the windows open."

Recent weather events across the country ― like air quality issues and a heat wave in Wisconsin ― have caused an increase in indoor gatherings this summer.

Additionally, Americans are testing for COVID less frequently, which means they're more likely to carry the virus unknowingly before attending gatherings or traveling, said Jodie Guest, professor and senior vice chair of the Department of Epidemiology at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health.

Plus, behaviors treated with caution a year or two ago, like eating indoors in restaurants, have become normal again, said Dr. Daniel Griffin, an infectious disease specialist and clinical instructor of medicine at Columbia University in New York City.

While COVID will likely never completely go away, vaccines, antiviral medications, masks and other prevention tools, along with improved care for the very sick, have transformed an urgent crisis into a manageable disease, experts say.

"I think the message is that COVID-19 is here to stay," Westergaard, the Wisconsin chief medical officer, said. "It can still cause severe illness, but we have more tools than we've ever had to help people keep themselves healthy and safe."

Westergaard urged people to get caught up on vaccines to protect against COVID and other respiratory illnesses before the fall sets in.

A new COVID-19 vaccine is expected to be available in September 2023

A new COVID booster designed to protect against new strains of the virus is expected to be available in September.

Westergaard recommended that people at high risk of severe illness from COVID, such as the elderly and the severely immunocompromised, consider getting a booster of the COVID vaccine now and not waiting, if it has been a long time since they have gotten a booster shot or have never gotten a COVID booster.

"Especially now that we're seeing some case counts and disease activity kick up," he said. "You don't want to be unprotected if you can help it."

For others, he recommended waiting until the new COVID booster is available possibly next month.

The City of Milwaukee Health Department provides COVID-19 vaccines free of charge at walk-in clinics every week. No appointment is required, and booster doses are available to anyone who is eligible.

The clinic is open from 3-6 p.m. on Monday and 1-4 p.m. on Tuesdayat the Southside Health Center, 1639 S. 23rd St. and from 3-6 p.m. on Wednesday and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday at the Northwest Health Center, 7630 W. Mill Road.

Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers, which has several clinics on Milwaukee's south side and serves people who are primarily covered by Medicaid or are uninsured, also has vaccines and COVID tests available free of charge, said Dr. Pamela Wilson, vice president of medical affairs. However, the clinic may charge for the visit, she said.

"We never want ability to pay to be a barrier to health care," she said. "We will always work with people."

Though the government is no longer providing free at-home tests, people can buy them at pharmacies and other local retailers for about $25 per box.

The Food and Drug Administration has extended the expiration dates of various at-home COVID-19 tests by months and even years. The extended expiration dates by type of test and brand can be found on their website.

More: COVID rates are rising. Now, a UW-Madison scientist has found a way to recycle face masks.

USA TODAY's Karen Weintraub and Adrianna Rodriguez and the Nashville Tennessean's Frank Gluck contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations rising in Milwaukee, Wisconsin