U-of-M infectious disease researcher Dr, Michael Osterholm says not only is the COVID Delta variant more infectious, it also appears to be able to spread in outdoor situations.
Doctor Osterholm told Mike Max on the WCCO Morning News that we've already seen significant outbreaks in outdoor activities, such as the celebration of the Milwaukee Bucks' NBA championship.
"The public needs information soon," Dr. Osterholm said. "They need to understand if recommendations are going to change about getting together outdoors."
He also says the Sturgis motorcycle rally, in progress for another week, could be another super-spreader event.
There are larger crowds at Sturgis than last year when about 600 cases were reported.
"And, we got Delta," Dr. Osterholm added.
There is also an increased concern about the growing number of infections among children, who seemed immune during the early stages of the pandemic.
"This is a real issue as we talk about schools," said Dr. Osterholm. "Many of the recommendations we made about how to reduce transmission were made based on before the alpha variant ever showed up. Data from a year ago. This is not the same virus."
Dr. Osterholm maintains that getting vaccinated is the best way to keep from getting sick from the virus, and to keep it from spreading.
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