Philadelphia became the first major U.S. city to reinstate its indoor mask rule on Monday after reporting a sharp increase in coronavirus infections. According to the Associated Press, Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole said the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased by more than 50 percent in 10 days, the threshold at which city guidelines call for people to wear masks indoors. Health officials believe the recent spike is being driven by the highly transmission ba.2 subvariant of Omicron, which has been spreading rapidly in Europe and Asia and has become dominant in the United States in recent weeks.
The WHO has warned that COVID-19 could “reset”, bringing humans back to zero immunity. “Novel Coronavirus is likely to continue to evolve, but the severity of the disease it causes will decrease over time as immunization and infection lead to enhanced immunity,” tedros said.
Omicron has become the dominant strain, and most people infected with the virus have mild symptoms, especially those who have been vaccinated. Fewer people are hospitalized, and people who stay at home usually recover on their own. In the face of COVID-19, we should not panic too much, but we should not underestimate the enemy too much. You never know if there will be a “hangover” from an infection that you can recover from. In addition to vaccines, masks are considered the most effective way to prevent the spread of droplets. So masks are still necessary when going out in public.