The winter respiratory virus season may have hit its peak in California, with coronavirus levels in sewage and COVID-19 hospitalizations starting to decline.
California now says people with COVID can leave home earlier than before, if their symptoms are mild and improving. But they need to mask up, or risk infecting others.
Anti-COVID therapeutic drugs are widely available, but some public health officials acknowledge that many still run into barriers trying to get a prescription.
Those who test positive need to isolate and stay home only while they have symptoms. Those who test positive, but remain asymptomatic, do not need to do so.
The uptick in illness, documented through wastewater surveillance, coincides with a sharp rise in flu activity during what's proving to be a busy season for respiratory viruses.