COVID-19 cases on the rise around San Francisco Bay Area; highest levels since winter, health officials say

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — There is an increase in positive COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area, especially in San Francisco.

UCSF’s Dr. Monica Ghandi says it’s because two new subvariants have come up this season.

“The problem with COVID-19 is that it hasn’t settled yet into a typical pattern. And these sub-variants are really coming. They’re both still in the omicron family, the nimbus and spartus variants. But they have now come out again, they’re arisen this summer, and that drives up new cases when you get new variants,” she said.

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The sub-variants notably have more sore throat and hoarseness, so that is an important clue that you could have COVID this summer.

Six out of nine wastewater testing sites in San Francisco reported high levels of COVID.

The state as a whole is measuring at moderate levels.

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“Wastewater is kind of an unbiased sampling, so it’s basically poop and pee that sequence to look for viruses. And because people aren’t going to get tested voluntarily, it kind of gives really, that unbiased level in the community. And what also is striking about wastewater is that you kind of see it go up before you see cases in the community,” according to UCSF’s Dr. Peter Chin-Hong.

Is it surprising to see a summer surge in COVID-19 cases?

“It’s surprising, but also not surprising. It’s not surprising because it’s kind of the pattern for COVID. We’ve seen four previous consecutive summer summers of increasing cases, so this summer is probably not going to be an exception,” Dr. Chin-Hong said.

“What we have seen over time, though, is fewer and fewer people going to the hospital, but it will represent also an increase in hospitalization, just not as much as it was in 2020, 2021,” he said.

Dr. Chin-Hong wants to remind people if people think they have COVID, a cold, or RSV, to stay away from other people to avoid transmission, especially the vulnerable.

You can watch Dr. Peter Chin-Hong’s interview with ABC7’s Karina Nova from our 5:30 p.m. weekday streaming newscast from Tuesday here.