Summer travel driving California's COVID-19 surge; Labor Day a test

Summer travel saves on fuel costs COVID-19 cases surge in California and other parts of the country.

Participants are reporting an increase. Democratic National Convention Since the Democratic National Convention ended in Chicago last week, at least 12 people from California — delegates, political strategists and reporters — have announced they have tested positive for COVID-19.

“It was an incredible time, but the DNCC held the Democratic National COVID-19 Convention last week,” Tracy Austin, a Democratic strategist who contracted COVID-19 while attending the convention, told the Times.

The next big test of the COVID surge is just around the corner.

The doctors Back to school season The Labor Day holiday weekend has exacerbated the rise in cases. Last week, officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said some data showed that Decreasing COVID-19 infections In some parts of the country, it's not clear whether the summer surge in cases will subside until there are several weeks of sustained declines, which is not yet the case.

Crowded airports and large indoor events Travel has long been known to be a driver of COVID-19 transmission, and travel has broken records this summer, with the Transportation Security Administration announcing that June 23 marked the highest number of passenger screenings in a single day in the agency's history. 2.99 millionAirports in Southern California It has also been reported Significant increase Number of passengers.

Many of the DNC events will be held indoors, where large groups pose the highest risk of infection.

“Any time you have nearly 25,000 people packing arenas, hotels and shuttle buses for four days, that's what happens,” said Robin Swanson, a spokeswoman for the California Democratic Party. “But The biggest takeaway from our tournament It's a desire to elect Democrats across the country.”

Dr. Elizabeth Hudson, infectious disease regional director for Kaiser Permanente Southern California, said that as a physician, her first thought when watching the Democratic National Convention was, “Oh my, almost no one is wearing a mask.”

She said she remembers thinking, “Maybe this is going to cause a ton of COVID-19 cases.”

“Having large groups of people indoors, talking and laughing and yelling, is actually the most efficient way to spread COVID-19,” Hudson said. “With all of that, the contact time is definitely where we're going to see COVID-19.”

nevertheless Masks have gone out of fashionHowever, these remain effective measures to help prevent COVID-19, along with avoiding contact with sick people, spending more time outdoors and in well-ventilated spaces, washing or disinfecting your hands frequently, and staying up to date on vaccinations.

“When traveling, if you are in an indoor area with large groups of people, you should wear a mask to reduce your risk of testing positive for COVID-19,” Hudson said.

“And make sure you wear a mask when you're on a plane or in an airport,” she added.

An updated COVID-19 vaccine is expected to be available for the 2024-25 season. Within this weekand everywhere throughout September.

This summer's COVID-19 wave It was surprisingly powerful..

First, there is the emergence of coronavirus variants. In the spring, some of the variants Collectively, they are called FLiRT.An outbreak began in mid-2010 involving KP.2, followed by its more contagious successor variants, KP.3 (nicknamed FLuQE, pronounced “fluke”) and the latest KP.3.1.1 (nicknamed deFLuQE, pronounced “de-fluke”).

With the latest subvariant, KP.3.1.1, “the particular mutation that this one caused was a little bit different than what people had seen with natural immunity and with the vaccines that were available at the time,” Hudson said.

“That makes it much easier to penetrate populations where natural immunity and vaccine-induced immunity are at their lowest,” Hudson said, with many people having been vaccinated or infected with COVID-19 for nearly a year or more.

Twenty-six states, including California, now have “active” or “likely” COVID-19 cases, down from 44 states about six weeks ago, according to the CDC.

In California, the percentage of positive coronavirus tests continues to rise: In the week ending Aug. 19, 14.4% of reported test results were positive, higher than during the peak of last summer and winter and up from about 11.5% a month earlier.

Overall, coronavirus concentrations in California's wastewater have remained roughly steady in recent weeks but are still at their highest levels so far this season.

How to protect yourself

• If you are sick, get tested. Get tested every day. Longer You should wait until five days after the onset of symptoms to get a positive rapid test. Even if your first test is negative, you may still have COVID-19. Consider getting retested every day for five days after you start having cough or cold symptoms, Hudson says. If your test is positive, you'll be able to isolate sooner and take measures to limit the spread of the disease.
• Make a plan Ask for Paxlovid If you get sick. Paxlovid is an antiviral drug that, when taken by people with mild to moderate symptoms who are at risk for severe COVID-19, reduces the risk of hospitalization and death. There are other anti-COVID drugs available, including molnupiravir, which is taken by mouth, and remdesivir, which is given intravenously.
• People with moderate or severe immunodeficiency should Pemivivert (brand name Pengarda)The drug, which is administered intravenously over an hour in a medical facility, helps prevent COVID-19 before exposure to the virus but is not a substitute for a vaccine.
• Wearing a mask can reduce the risk of infection, especially on a crowded airplane or indoors.
• CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) say Once your symptoms have improved and you no longer have a fever (without the use of fever-reducing medications), you should avoid contact with others for at least 24 hours. Officials suggest taking additional precautions, such as wearing a tight-fitting mask for five days to avoid infecting others and continuing to get COVID testing in case the virus resurges.
• In addition to CDC guidance, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health I encourage you to test it yourself You must get a negative rapid test result before you can leave quarantine. Officials recommend wearing a mask around others for 10 days after you start feeling sick, or after your first positive COVID test if you are asymptomatic. Quickly expose Two consecutive negative COVID tests, separated by at least one day, are required. The agency also recommends avoiding contact with older people and those with weakened immune systems for 10 days after you start feeling sick.

• In general, the following tips also reduce the risk of coronavirus infection: maintain distance from others, open windows to increase air circulation, turn on air purifiers, meet outdoors if meeting in person, wash and sanitize your hands frequently, clean commonly touched surfaces, and cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing.

Additional Travel Tips from the CDC

• Keep all your information up to date Routine vaccines; Vaccination protects against infectious diseases, such as measles, that can spread rapidly in populations of unvaccinated people. Many of the diseases that are preventable through routine vaccination are no longer common in the United States but are still common in other countries.
• Stay up to date on COVID-19 vaccines Get the seasonal flu vaccine. In the United States, the CDC has influenza vaccine September or October.
• prepare Travel Health Kit Pack essentials, especially those that may be hard to find at your destination. Bring only what you need for the duration of your trip, including prescription and over-the-counter medications. Bring extra in case of travel delays. Depending on your destination, mask, Insect repellent, Sunscreen (SPF15 or higher), aloe vera, alcohol-based hand sanitizer, water sanitizing tablets, and your health insurance card.

Mehta reported from Chicago and Lin from San Francisco.