IMPRISONMENT CHARGE DODGE. NOW TO THE NEW DATA THAT SHOWS COVID 19 CASES ARE RISING JUST LIKE LAST YEAR. BUT ONE OF OMAHA’S TOP DOCTORS CALLS IT A WAVE RATHER THAN A TSUNAMI. CASES ARE SPIKING ON THE NATIONAL LEVEL AS WELL. FIRST LADY JILL BIDEN TESTED POSITIVE AND HAS MILD SYMPTOMS. THE PRESIDENT HIMSELF HAS TESTED NEGATIVE AND WILL KEEP TESTING. AS FOR THE VIRUS HERE AT HOME? NEWSWATCH SEVEN’S JOEY SAFCHIK JOINS US WITH THE DIAGNOSIS. JOEY. BILL QUANECIA, IF YOU FEEL LIKE ANOTHER FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER IS COMING DOWN WITH COVID EVERY DAY, YOU’RE NOT ALONE. INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT MARK RUPP SAYS THE WASTEWATER EVIDENCE SHOWS A SPIKE BOTH LOCALLY AND NATIONWIDE. AND COVID IS AGAIN ON THE RISE. BUT DR. MARK RUPP’S PROGNOSIS IS NOT GRIM. I DON’T ANTICIPATE THAT THIS IS GOING TO RESULT IN A LARGE INCREASE IN SEVERE CASES, HOSPITALIZATIONS AND DEATHS. THANKS, HE SAYS, TO PRETTY BROAD POPULATION IMMUNITY FROM PREVIOUS ILLNESSES AND VACCINATIONS. I WOULD CHARACTERIZE IT AS A WAVE RATHER THAN A TSUNAMI. IT ALSO HELPS KEEP THE SPREAD AT BAY WHEN PEOPLE TAKE THEIR SYMPTOMS SERIOUSLY. UNFORTUNATELY, I LET MY GUARD DOWN AND COVID HAS COME IN AND CHANGED MY PLANS. DAWN MILLER IS ON DAY FIVE OF HIS COVID DIAGNOSIS. HE WAS SUPPOSED TO COME TO NEBRASKA FOR A CYCLING RACE, BUT THE 73 YEAR OLD HAD TO PUMP THE BRAKES ON HIS TRIP. I MUST TELL YOU THAT THE SYMPTOMS I EXPERIENCED WERE VERY, VERY, VERY DIRE. HIS DOCTOR PRESCRIBED PAXLOVID, WHICH HE SAYS IS HELPING EASE THE PAIN. THE SYMPTOMS WERE IT WAS IT WAS PRETTY TERRIBLE. IT’S GETTING BETTER DAY BY DAY. DR. RUPP EMPHASIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF TESTING. IF YOU FEEL SICK BECAUSE THOSE MEDICATIONS CAN HELP TAMPER THE ILLNESS, BUT ONLY IF YOU GET A PROPER DIAGNOSIS. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THAT ALL OF US, AGAIN HERE IN ANOTHER FEW WEEKS, WHEN THE BOOSTER VACCINE BECOMES AVAILABLE TO ROLL UP OUR SLEEVES AND TO GET THE BEST PROTECTION THAT WE CAN AN EARLY EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT NEW BOOSTER IS EFFECTIVE AGAINST EVOLVING VARIANTS. DR. RUPP ADVISES GETTING THE BOOSTER AND YOUR FLU SHOT SO YOU CAN ENJOY A HEALTHY