Is there a COVID surge in North Carolina right now? Here’s what you need to know.

A quick way to gauge whether there’s a COVID surge in your area is to do what Dr. David Wohl calls the “sniff test.”

Do you have a family member who has tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week or so? What about a neighbor or coworker?

If the answer is yes, there are likely rising cases, said Wohl, a UNC infectious disease expert.

Here’s what you need to know about COVID-19 in NC:

Is there a surge in COVID right now?

Sort of.

Wohl prefers to call it a “surge-let.”

Hospital admissions for COVID-19 have increased in the past few weeks. During the first full week of September, 638 patients were admitted for COVID-19 in North Carolina, nearly six times the number of hospitalized patients during the summer’s low in June.

Still, that number is small in comparison to 2022’s fall surge, which hospitalized more than 1,000 people in one week at its peak.

And this winter will likely bring an even bigger spike in hospitalizations, Wohl said.

“There’s no reason why we wouldn’t unless everyone reading this goes out and gets their new booster,” he said.

(New and improved boosters are now available at pharmacies).

Dr. Cameron Wolfe, a Duke infectious disease expert, said in a recent media briefing that most patients now being admitted to the hospital either have comorbidities that put them at high risk of severe illness or have a suppressed immune system that prevents them from building defenses against COVID-19.

What is causing this rise in cases?

For epidemiologists, this surge was not a surprise. Cases have consistently ticked up in the late summer since the start of the pandemic.

Wohl said summer activities, like traveling and gathering with friends and family, could partly contribute to the rise. He also said hotter weather often forces people indoors, where the virus spreads more readily.

Though a new variant, BA.2.86, has made headlines for its concerning mutations, it’s not responsible for this uptick in cases, Wohl said — there are only a handful of cases confirmed in the United States.

Omicron subvariants, like XBB and the more recent EG.5, make up most of the cases circulating right now.

What to do if you have COVID

The first step is to confirm you have COVID-19 with an at-home test.

Even if you have symptoms, it may take a few days before the tests turn positive, Wohl said. Immunity from past infections or vaccines lowers the amount of virus in the body, which makes it less detectable on these tests.

If you do test positive, Wohl said it’s smart to talk to a health care provider about getting a prescription for an antiviral like Paxlovid.

These medications lower the risk of hospitalization, shorten the duration of symptoms and reduce the likelihood of developing long COVID, he said.

“There are very few people who don’t qualify for Paxlovid,” he said.

Teddy Rosenbluth covers science and health care for The News & Observer in a position funded by Duke Health and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work.

A new omicron variant makes up 16% of cases in the Southeast. What you need to know.

The newest COVID vaccine will be available very soon. Here’s when you can get it