Here in the US the states are not reporting cases as diligently to the CDC and COVID has dropped off of the front page, so to speak, so the newest outbreak (that is growing rapidly) of the newest variant BA.5 is coming as a surprise to people.

The most transmissible variant yet of the coronavirus is threatening a fresh wave of infections in the United States, even among those who have recovered from the virus fairly recently.

The subvariant of Omicron known as BA.5 is now dominant, according to federal estimates released Tuesday, and together with BA.4, another subvariant, it is fueling an outbreak of cases and hospitalizations.

Though the popularity of home testing means reported cases are a significant undercount of the true infection rate, the share of tests that come back positive is shooting upward and is now higher than during most other waves of the pandemic. According to the C.D.C., the risk from Covid-19 is increasing in much of the country. (emphasis mine)

Just when I was thinking it would be safe this time to go to outpatient physical therapy for the knee, I'm rethinking that option.

Get well soon, Steve and Mrs. Steve. You'd be a lot worse off if you hadn't had the vaccines that were already available. It looks like there will be a new one here in the fall to cover these recent variants.