An apparent 4th wave of COVID-19 is centered in the East. Will it hit California? Luke Money, Maura Dolan and Rong-gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times April 4, 2021 FacebookTwitterEmail People enjoy lunch hour in Union Square, Friday, March 26, 2021, in New York. A year after becoming a global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, New York and New Jersey are back atop the list of U.S. states with the highest rates of infection.Mary Altaffer/AP What appears to be a fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has struck Michigan, the New York region and New England, and experts are uncertain if it will remain contained.