Houston Health officials send warning amid concerning spike in COVID-19 cases

HOUSTON - The summer is in full swing, and as people gather for summer activities the City of Houston is seeing a spike in COVID-19 cases. 

"COVID is definitely out in the community," said Dr. Luis Ostrosky.

Dr. Ostrosky is the Chief of Infectious Diseases for UT Health and Memorial Hermann. He says the Greater Houston area is experiencing a 30% spike in COVID cases. 

"In the hospitals, we're starting to see more people coming to the ER with COVID, more people coming to our outpatient clinics with COVID," he said. 

RELATED: Houston COVID-19 summer spike: Doctors share reminders amid increase in cases

And while most of the people they're seeing only exhibit mild symptoms, he notes there are those who enter the ICU and need to be placed on ventilators. 

The strain that's believed to be causing this spike is XBB which is an omicron sub-variant. 

Dr. Ostrosky says not enough is being done to contain it, leading to uncontrolled transmission in our communities.

"We have very little mitigation going on in the community, really nobody's wearing a mask at this point, nobody's testing when they have symptoms," said Dr. Ostrosky. 

And he sent a reminder, that the safety and hygiene methods we heard continuously throughout the pandemic still apply in 2023.

DOWNLOAD THE FOX 26 HOUSTON APP BY CLICKING HERE

"We need to keep our guard up, when numbers are high like this you need to be careful, really being conscious about hand hygiene. If you're not vaccinated get one; and if you are up-to-date when the new booster comes out in September, that's the time to get it," Dr. Ostrosky advised. 

For more information on where and how to get vaccinated click here: COVID-19 Vaccines | Houston Health Department

And to learn more about receiving free at-home testing, click here: COVID-19 Testing | Houston Health Department