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Cailianshe News, August 13 (Editor: Ma Lan)The summer COVID-19 outbreak in the United States is getting worse. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of the week of August 3, the weekly COVID-19 test positivity rate in the United States reached 17.6%, a significant increase from 10% a month ago.

The infection rate, medical consultation rate and mortality rate of the COVID-19 epidemic in the United States have all shown an upward trend, which has also caused great concern in the American medical community. As a former leader in the fight against the new crown, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the United States, Fauci called on Monday that high-risk groups should take the rising trend of the new crown seriously and wear masks again in crowded places.

Fauci said he was infected with the new coronavirus again about two weeks ago. This was his third time to be infected with the new coronavirus. Fauci also emphasized that he had received a total of six vaccinations and a booster shot.

He pointed out that people do not need to stop their social activities for isolation, but when they are in crowded and enclosed spaces, especially high-risk elderly people and patients with underlying diseases, the best preventive measure is to wear masks.

He also said that these sensitive groups should avoid crowded places because the health status of other people is an uncontrollable variable. In addition, sensitive groups should also receive regular vaccinations and booster shots.

Protection is very important

Despite Fauci's earnest words, American society remains skeptical about wearing masks to protect against the virus. But that doesn't mean health experts have ignored concerns about a surge in infections in the summer.

Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health and former White House coronavirus response coordinator, pointed out that if we only talk about infections, this year may end up with the largest summer epidemic the United States has ever experienced.

According to the latest wastewater testing data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than half of the states in the United States have very high levels of COVID-19 activity: wastewater data from at least 27 states showed "very high" virus activity, while 17 states reported "high" activity.

Globally, the World Health Organization reported last week that the positive rate of new crown tests in 84 countries has increased in the past few weeks and is unlikely to decline in the short term. It also warned that more serious new crown virus variants may soon appear.

Maria Van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist and head of the World Health Organization's COVID-19 response, stressed that it is extremely critical for individuals to take steps to reduce the risk of infection and severe illness, including ensuring that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 within the past 12 months.

The World Health Organization urged countries to step up vaccination efforts and advocated that high-risk groups receive COVID-19 vaccines every year. The agency continued to warn that a new wave of infections could cause the virus to mutate and produce more dangerous strains that could evade detection systems and avoid medical intervention.