In the U.S., infections, emergency room visits, and deaths are all on the rise. It’s higher than any other summer surge since the pandemic began in 2020. More than half of states are now seeing "high" or "very high" levels of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in their wastewater testing.

Covid rates are also still continuing to rise across most of the country, fueled by the highly contagious new variants of the virus — KP.2 and KP.3 and LB.1. At least 26 states have very high levels of Covid, the data shows. All states have rising levels.

“It is a very, very transmissible variant, probably one of the most transmissible we’ve had,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a professor of medicine and infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco.

But people who test positive for Covid don’t need to isolate for five days, according to recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the CDC, someone with Covid can go back to normal activities when symptoms have been getting better for at least 24 hours and no fever even without taking fever-reducing medication like acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Then for the next five days, take precautions such as wearing a mask in crowded indoor situations.


This is the first major wave since the CDC updated its Covid guidance, said Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiologist who tracks the virus. She recommends isolating until an at-home Covid test turns negative, which could be anywhere from three to 15 days.


Michael Mina, an epidemiologist and former professor of immunology and infectious diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health advises taking an at-home test on the third day after symptoms begin. If it's negative, test again the next day. In a study, Mina said that up to 50% of people were still infectious a week or eight days after symptoms begin and up to 20% were still contagious up to nine days later.

The experts recognize that most people will be ready to get back to work or school quickly after they feel better.

However, what's most important is to be careful around people who may be immunocompromised or elderly. "When looking at the CDC’s most recent, looser, COVID guidelines, there are some contexts where a COVID infected individual really would want to be more careful, including not giving it to somebody who’s vulnerable for whatever reason."