Sept. 27, 2021

This paid piece is sponsored by Avera Health.

COVID cases are rising because of the Delta variant, and how high the numbers go depends on how we all respond to the situation.

“It’s important to identify a case of COVID as early as possible and isolate to prevent spreading it to others,” said Dr. David Basel, vice president of clinical quality for Avera Medical Group.

Stay home and get tested if you’re sick

“If you develop cold- or flu-like symptoms, stay home from work. If your children develop these symptoms, keep them home from school. Don’t assume it’s just a common cold or the flu. There’s about a 20 percent chance that it’s COVID,” Basel said. “If there’s loss of taste or smell, it’s almost sure to be COVID.”

Get tested to find out for sure. Stay isolated until the test results come back, and if it’s positive, stay isolated for 10 days since the onset of symptoms.

“Our Midwestern work ethic often tells us to go to work or school anyway. How many of us have gone to work or school with a cough or runny nose? But with more COVID going around, it’s extremely important to stay home when sick,” Basel said.

Employers should be aware of this and allow their employees leeway to either be out sick or work from home if symptoms arise.

The Delta variant is much more transmissible. People with the virus infect an average of five to nine other people, compared with 1.2 to two people with original COVID.

Keep an eye on prevention

Staying socially distant is still important in the workplace too. It’s considered an exposure if you’ve been within 6 feet of someone with COVID for more than 15 minutes throughout the day. Masks also are helpful in preventing transmission of the virus.

Beyond these measures, employers can help prevent cases by encouraging vaccinations.

“Breakthrough cases are happening, and they were expected to happen,” Basel said. For example, the Pfizer vaccine is about 90 percent effective in preventing cases – that means one in 10 people might experience a breakthrough case.

“But the vaccine is still doing what it was designed to do by preventing severe illness, hospitalizations and deaths,” Basel said. “By and large, the symptoms people experience with breakthrough cases are milder. Most hospitalizations we’re seeing among vaccinated people are the most vulnerable populations like elderly or people with an underlying condition.”

What will the future bring?

This current Delta-driven wave of COVID is expected to peak in the next several weeks before it begins to wane. But Basel said experts don’t expect COVID to be “over” anytime soon.

Waves of COVID will continue, but he expects these waves to diminish in 2022. “Eventually, it will probably be like the seasonal flu,” Basel said.

In the meantime, as life goes on and employees are back in the workplace, kids are back in school and fans are back in the football stands and concert halls, it’s important to remember three takeaways:

• Stay home and get tested if you’re sick.
• Get vaccinated if you’re not.
• Prevent infection as best you can by wearing masks and staying socially distant.