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

80% of COVID infections come from these places, says the doctor. Avatar BY ALEK KORAB FACT CHECKED BY EMILIA PALUSZEK It's the holiday season but the coronavirus doesn't take a day off: The virus continues to spread, and will do so even more after Christmas, after family gatherings lead to an expected "surge upon a surge." CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who said on New Day that the country is at a "breaking point," revealed five places where coronavirus transmission is more likely to occur than others. "It's really these five primary locations where 80 percent of 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 Coronavirus. 1 Houses of Worship 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. "I fully respect religion and if there's a time in life when we need it, the time is now, but we want to make sure we keep people safe at the same time," said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who wanted to prevent Orthodox Jews from congregating. "That's the balance we're trying to hit, especially through this holiday season." 2 Hotels "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." 3 Bars 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." With inhibitions lowered, and gathering together indoors, people are more likely to inadvertently spread the virus to one another. "Close the bars and keep the schools open," he has said recently, meaning, he feels watering holes are responsible for more spread than schools. 4 Cafés "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." 5 Restaurants 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. RELATED: 7 Tips You Must Follow to Avoid COVID, Say Doctors 6 How to Survive This Pandemic As for yourself, follow Fauci's fundamentals and help end this surge, no matter where you live—wear a face mask, social distance, avoid large crowds, don't go indoors with people you're not sheltering with (especially in bars), practice good hand hygiene, get vaccinated when it becomes available to you, 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.