Experts urge residents to stay COVID-19 cautious in the fall

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- COVID-19 cases appear to be on the rise as we head into the fall and winter months, according to health officials.

While the numbers are still nowhere near what we saw at this point in the last three years, officials are still advising people to take precautions.

As many are gathering with friends and family for the holiday weekend, health officials are urging people to stay outdoors to help prevent the spread of COVID.

It's especially important as we head into the fall and the start of the school year when COVID cases are expected to rise.

"I'm not really much so nervous about that. I'm not as much as concerned about that because I feel like it's died down so it's not a big issue," said Monique Robinson of Northeast Philadelphia.

Marci Drees, the chief infection prevention officer at ChristianaCare, says now is not the time to let your guard down when it comes to COVID.

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It's called XBA-286, a similar offshoot of the omicron variant. Dr. Jonathan Stallkamp says it's still too early to tell if it's a more severe or more infectious strain than the previous strains.

She says cases are expected to rise in the fall. A way to keep yourself safe is by getting the new booster, which should come out in mid-September. That will replace the bivalent booster.

"'Up-to-date' today means you've received that bivalent booster. But in a couple of weeks, it's going to be a new booster. I suspect the recommendations will be the same, but you can just get that booster and be done and not get a series of two or three shots," said Drees.

She says it makes sense to wait and get the new booster unless you'll be in a situation where you need immunity immediately, like if you're taking a trip.

"If you were to get the bivalent booster today, you'd probably have to wait about two months to get the updated booster," said Drees.

In Philadelphia, the health department says they've seen historically low rates over the summer, but cases are now on the rise.

"We're starting to see a slight rise in some of the metrics that we're tracking. So hospitalizations are up a little bit, wastewater testing is up a little bit. So this lets us know there is more COVID now than there was a couple weeks ago in Philadelphia," said James Garrow, the spokesperson for the Philadelphia Health Department.

Garrow said in the next week it's important to get supplies.

"What folks can do now in the next week or two is really start to think about: do they have all the supplies they need if cases do get bad?" said Garrow.