What precautions you should take to keep yourself safe from omicron

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) - As more and more people continue to test positive COVID-19, what precautions should you be taking to keep yourself from catching omicron?

KRON4 spoke with an infectious disease specialist about his recommendations, including if you should create a social "bubble.”

Amanda Hari: "Should people be taking more precautionary measures right now?"

Dr. John Swartzberg: “Yes, I don't think there's any question about it."

Two days before Christmas, San Francisco saw more than a thousand people test positive for COVID-19, with all the holiday gatherings and the incredibly infectious omicron variant those numbers will likely go up.

“The test positivity rate is incredibly high. That means the number of people getting tested to see if they have COVID is way up compared to two weeks ago,” Dr. Swartzberg said. 

Clinical Professor Emeritus at UC Berkley's Public Health Division of Infectious Diseases John Swartzberg says it is likely even more people are testing positive at home and not reporting results.

“If you're out and about in public or getting together in parties with lots of people the chances of some of those folks being infected is really quite high," Dr. Swartzberg said. 

When Dr. Swartzberg was asked about people creating social "bubbles" again and only interacting with people in those bubbles, he said it would be a good idea.

“I think it's limiting your contacts with other people. That's the major thing,” Dr. Swartzberg said. 

A COVID-19 "bubble" is a select few friends or family members you socialize with, mask-free but no one can socialize in-person with anyone outside the bubble.

This will prevent the virus from infecting the group.

Similarly, Dr. Swartzberg says you should limit new years eve celebrations to just a few people and make sure they are healthy before gathering.

“Everybody is going to test with a rapid test before they come in the door," Dr. Swartzberg said. 

He says he plans to play it as safe as possible.

"My wife and I are going to open up a really nice bottle of champagne and we're going to have a really lovely dinner and that's going to be our New Year’s celebration," Dr. Swartzberg said. 

Dr. Swartzberg says the best way to protect yourself is still to get vaccinated and boosted.

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