By many measures, the coronavirus is a thing of the past.

Masks have been stored away. Social distancing is just a vague memory. Interest in vaccines is waning. COVID, for many, feels like an inevitable annoyance, like the flu.

Then, each summer, we get a rude reminder.

The season of travel and fun continues to bring a spike in COVID-19 activity, far less profound than during the height of the pandemic but enough for people to notice and worry.

This summer’s jump is being fueled by the subvariant XFG, nicknamed “Stratus.”

“As we learn more about COVID, we are seeing that it has two surges a year: the late fall/early winter and in the summer, so we expect this trend of increased cases in the summer to continue,” said Dr. Elizabeth Hudson, the regional chief of infectious disease at Kai

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