Parents of San Diego Unified School District children were notified this week that indoor masking requirements may be reinstated if certain risk levels are reached. The plan comes as a response to rising COVID-19 case numbers in the community at large and within schools. Last week, 1,112 positive COVID-19 cases were reported among students and staff across the district. And with the busy summer months almost here, experts say cases may continue to rise across San Diego.
Dr. Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, joined KPBS Midday Edition to talk about what to expect as summer approaches.
"Number one is get boosted. That's really important if you haven't because you just don't want to get this virus if you can avoid it, and if you've had it before, you don't want to get it again," Topol said. "Second thing is, if you're traveling and if you're in public places like airports and flying and other gatherings indoors, wear a mask — a high-quality mask — because it will help. If you can avoid crowds that's great. Staying outside as much as possible is really helpful. You know, rapid tests are really useful, but they're not perfect because you can have a rapid test and be in a room that everyone has had a rapid test and be negative, but unfortunately that room may have false-negatives or people who became positive after their rapid test was done. So don't rely on them completely for making decisions."
