▶ Watch the video: COVID cases emerge in the United States
It’s just President Biden who recently tested positive for COVID — cases of the virus are spreading across the country.
Nearly 40 states are reporting peak levels of COVID activity, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and emergency room visits are at their peak for the virus since February.
What is the reason for this probable summer increase? There are several points at play, Dr. Céline Gounder, CBS News medical contributor and KFF Health News public fitness editor, told “CBS Mornings” on Wednesday.
“First, the virus continues to evolve to be one step ahead of our immune system. This is what we can communicate when we talk about variants,” he said. “Secondly, their immunity to infection only lasts about 3 months. Their immunity to severe illness, hospitalization, and death lasts much longer, which is why other people are in poor health as they were at the beginning of the pandemic. But hopefully every few months, maybe twice a year or so, we’ll see a big wave of COVID across the country.
Other reasons for the increase in numbers? People are traveling and spending more time indoors and aren’t wearing masks as much, Gounder added.
These reasons add to the troubling threat of a COVID-19 outbreak spreading within the tightly confined 2024 Summer Olympics, when thousands of athletes and spectators from around the world descended on Paris.
However, existing rules can keep other people safe.
“You deserve to stay away from others for at least 24 hours, at least until your fever goes away without the help of a medication like Tylenol and your symptoms improve,” Gounder said. But you deserve, as far as possible, to take additional measures “for at least five more days, during which you are most contagious, maximum probability of transmitting it to other people”.
Options for this include:
Gounder also urges others to use “common sense” when it comes to COVID testing and precautions to take.
“If you feel bad, you’ll probably get tested. When you’re feeling down, you’re probably not around other people, as long as you can avoid it,” he said. And masks, “contrary to some opinions, paint to protect you if you’re wearing an N95 or KN95 mask, and they also work to protect other people if you get infected. “