5 Places You'll Most Likely Catch COVID, According to Dr. Gupta

The coronavirus doesn't take a day off: The virus continues to spread and CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta—earlier in the pandemic—revealed five places where coronavirus transmission is more likely to occur than others. Unfortunately, his advice is as relevant now as ever, as Omicron and Delta team up to drive cases high. "It's really these five primary locations where viral transmissions are happening in our society," Dr. Gupta said. Read on to hear his warning—and to ensure your health and the health of others, don't miss these Sure Signs You've Already Had COVID.

The Supreme Court blocked state COVID-19 restrictions against houses of worship but use caution if you plan to attend: They are hotspots for the virus. 

"Staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19," says the CDC, calling "a house or cabin with people from your household (e.g., vacation rentals)" more risky and "Hotels or multi-unit guest lodgings (e.g., bed and breakfasts)" "even more risky."

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Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has said: "We need to really take seriously the issue of wearing masks all the time and not congregating in bars," calling them "certainly an important mechanism of this spread."

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"In cities worldwide, coronavirus outbreaks have been linked to restaurants, cafes and gyms. Now, a new model using mobile-phone data to map people's movements suggests that these venues could account for most COVID-19 infections in US cities," reports Nature. "The team then used the model to simulate different scenarios, such as reopening some venues while keeping others closed. They found that opening restaurants at full capacity led to the largest increase in infections, followed by gyms, cafes and hotels and motels."

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One way you can catch COVID is to be indoors with strangers (or anyone you're not sheltering with) who have their masks off. Naturally, you must take your mask off to eat. That's why restaurants are so problematic. "When you have restaurants indoors in a situation where you have a high degree of infection in the community, you're not wearing masks, that's a problem," Dr. Fauci has said. He prefers takeout or delivery.

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Follow the public health fundamentals and help end this pandemic, no matter where you live—get vaccinated and boosted ASAP; if you live in an area with low vaccination rates, wear an N95 face mask, don't travel, social distance, avoid large crowds, don't go indoors with people you're not sheltering with (especially in bars), practice good hand hygiene, and to protect your life and the lives of others, don't visit any of these 35 Places You're Most Likely to Catch COVID.