TAMPA, Fla. — A summer surge of COVID-19 has arrived in the United States.
“I’m not surprised by COVID anymore,” said Dr. Timothy Hendrix with AdventHealth.
The CDC reports an increase in COVID-19 test positivity, hospitalizations, emergency department visits and deaths.
According to wastewater monitoring, cases in Florida are surging.
The CDC considers Florida to have "very high" levels of the virus.
“Anecdotally, lots of people are testing positive for COVID right now,” said Dr. Jill Roberts with the USF College of Public Health.
The recent development of mutations—the FLiRT variants that are highly contagious—are partially to blame for the increase.
“That pivot in the strains is going to create a little bit of a bump in that positivity,” said Roberts.
Health officials believe this is also happening because of recent Fourth of July celebrations and travel, fueling the spread.
“We’re kind of getting used to this wave of COVID that comes along periodically as we get a new variant. The pattern that we usually see is if there’s a new variant out there and a holiday, we will see an increase in cases,” said Hendrix.
With summer travel predicted to remain high for a few more weeks, doctors expect that spread to continue.
“So travel is hot. I know we’re looking even worldwide at some of the most popular travel destinations that are just completely packed with people and overcrowded,” said Roberts.
Now, many experts believe this surge could lead into the start of the upcoming school year.
“From the patients I’ve seen, and reviewing some charts from the positives coming in, it’s the standard cough, fatigue, misery,” said Hendrix.
If you get COVID-19 this summer, remember there is a treatment available to help reduce the risk of severe symptoms.
“We do have Paxlovid for those higher-risk individuals. It is still an effective anti-viral against COVID-19,” said Hendrix.
Officials encourage people to take a test and stay home if they feel sick.
“The guidance is no longer to quarantine for that week or two with COVID, but guidance is if you have a virus, whether it be flu, COVID, whatever, you stay home until you’re feeling better or you’ve at least had no fever for 24 hours,” said Hendrix.