Amid ‘summer surge’ of new COVID variant — should we be wearing masks?

To masks, or to not masks?

That’s the query dealing with many medical doctors, public well being officers and anxious residents worldwide, as cases of COVID-19 as soon as once more tick upward.

In the meantime, the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) warned on Thursday that there’s a brand new, “highly mutated variant” of the coronavirus named BA.2.86 that’s spreading worldwide.

Current data from the New York state Department of Health, launched Aug. 2, confirmed that COVID instances spiked by 55% over the prior week, with a median of 824 reported instances per day throughout the state.

The rise in COVID-19 instances isn’t restricted to New York: The CDC recorded 10,320 US hospital admissions for COVID-19 within the week ending August 5 — a 14.3% improve from the week prior.

Nevertheless, regardless of alarmist headlines a couple of “summer time surge,” many medical doctors are urging individuals to not panic.

“It’s ticking up slightly bit — however it’s not one thing that we have to increase any alarm bells over,” Dr. David Dowdy, an infectious illness specialist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg College of Public Well being, told the Associated Press.

And public well being consultants who monitor COVID-19 concentrations in wastewater aren’t seeing something too worrisome.

“It’s vital to recollect proper now the concentrations are nonetheless pretty low,” mentioned Cristin Younger, an epidemiologist at Biobot Analytics, the CDC’s wastewater surveillance contractor, including that concentrations are about 2.5 occasions decrease than they had been final summer time.

New variants proceed to look, together with the most recent one dubbed EG.5 or “eris,” however no single pressure of the coronavirus has emerged because the dominant variant.

“There are a pair that we’re watching, however we’re not seeing something like delta or omicron,” mentioned Younger, referring to the variants that sparked earlier COVID-19 surges.

However for sure individuals, slightly further warning is really helpful.

“[O]f course, if I used to be somebody who had an underlying well being situation, I’d settle for an entire lot much less danger,” Dr. Sara Cody, the Santa Clara County (California) public well being director, told the Los Angeles Times.

“And I’d be very cautious to masks,” Cody added.

Folks over the age of 65 are additionally extra more likely to get a extreme case of COVID-19, the CDC warns, which can trigger them to be hospitalized, want intensive care, require a ventilator, or die.

“Though the declared emergency is over, COVID continues to be circulating — and it most likely will probably be for fairly a while. And so in case you actually don’t need to get sick, you’ll be able to defend your self by carrying a masks if you’re indoors,” mentioned Cody.

“But it surely’s, at this level, a person determination,” Cody added.