CDC Director Warns Covid Variants Could Reverse the Recent Drop in Cases and Hospitalizations

• New variants are a “threat” to the U.S. and could reverse the recent declines in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Monday.
• “Please continue to wear a mask and stay 6 feet apart from people you don’t live with. Avoid travel, crowds and poorly ventilated spaces and get vaccinated when it’s available to you,” she added.

New, highly contagious variants of the coronavirus are a “threat” to the United States and could reverse the recent drop in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Monday.

The U.S. reported a seven-day average of 119,900 new Covid-19 cases a day last week, down nearly 20% from the prior week but still “dramatically higher” than the peak seen during the summer, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told reporters during a White House news briefing on Covid-19.