SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego County is sitting in the medium transmission category for COVID-19 cases.
Cases have tripled over the past month, according to the county.
"The simple truth is we haven't moved passed this because the virus just doesn't care. It doesn't care how we feel, whether we believe we moved passed it. It still infecting us at very high levels," said Dr. David Pride, UCSD.
There are 207 patients in San Diego hospitals right now. There are 22 patientsin the ICU.
On Sunday, more than twelve hundred new cases were reported but that number does not account for at-home tests.
Dr. Pride said that means our region could very well have higher transmission.
"If we were capable of measuring for example all of those people who were positive via home tests, we may very well be in that high transmission level already. So we are either there already or if we don't change our behavior we will be there relatively soon," he explained.
He said soon means in a matter of weeks.
As for if vacationers will impact our transmission levels, Dr. Pride says it isn't likely because the spread is so high already.
"With that being said, during times of relatively low transmission, when people come from different parts of the country where there may at that time be relatively high transmission- yes, they can contribute significantly to our trend," he said.
He said the best way for San Diegans to protect themselves is to use the tools we already know work.
"Try to distance ourselves, particularly when in public, and mask as much as we can, particularly when we're in indoor settings," said Dr. Pride.
Dr. Pride encourages everyone to get vaccinated and boosted
"The one thing to really remember is it could be the difference between life and death," he said.
