The latest COVID wastewater data shows levels in the Boston area at the range levels they were before the omicron surge started in December.

New data unveiled this week showed the levels back down to where they were in early December, before cases started to spike dramatically. This comes as states, cities and towns weigh what types of COVID-19 restrictions to keep in place in the face of the dropping metrics and what a "new normal" may look like.

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority's tracking system, run by Cambridge-based Biobot, works by analyzing bits of genetic material in the Boston area's sewers to indicate how much of the virus is circulating in the community.

As of Monday, COVID levels were averaging under 1,000 RNA copies of COVID per milliliter, down from around 2,000 reported on Jan. 20 and from a peak near 10,000 in early January.