With restaurants opening back up and many mask and social distancing guidelines being relaxed, it may seem as if the COVID-19 pandemic is nearly over.
Health officials, however, continue to advise individuals to exercise caution, especially those who have not yet been vaccinated against the virus.
While the number of new infections are down considerably from the winter months, Surry County has continued to experience what one health official called “substantial community spread.”
“We closely monitor the number of cases,” said Maggie Simmons, assistant health director with the Surry County Health and Nutrition Center. “While the numbers are decreasing, it is still important for those who are unvaccinated and those at higher risk to protect themselves.
According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Surry County has seen 123 new cases diagnosed over the past 14 days, or about 9 per day. That’s far lower than at the height of the pandemic, when some days saw as many as 100 new cases, but still significant, health officials said. At the current rate, Surry County remains among the North Carolina counties with the highest transmission rate.
Overall, Surry County has seen 8,335 confirmed cases since the pandemic began, with 165 deaths attributed to COVID-19 and related complications.
The lower numbers are reflected at Northern Regional Hospital. As of Thursday afternoon, the hospital had four inpatients diagnosed with COVID-19, none of which were in the Intensive Care Unit, or ICU, according to Ashly Lancaster, director of marketing at Northern. She said one of those patients was in the Step-Down unit, which is a unit for patients needing more serious care than the general hospital population, but not dire enough for the ICU.
At several points during the winter, hospital officials said there were times when there were not enough ICU or step-down unit beds to accommodate the COVID-19 patients along with other critical care patients, resulting in some being held long-term in the emergency department. There were even times when the ICU was full and patients were held in nearby hallways.
Now, Lancaster said the number of patients coming to the emergency department with COVID-like symptoms has fallen considerably, and the hospital is now seeing an increase in non-COVID treatment as well as diagnostic testing and other follow-ups which had been delayed during the height of the pandemic.
Simmons said vaccinations — a major contributing factor to the drop in COVID-19 cases — is continuing, though demand is dropping.
All totaled, she said 21,576 Surry County residents, of 30.1% of its population, have gotten at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, with 28.3%, or 20,334 of the population, being fully vaccinated.
“We have Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccine on hand and offer vaccines Monday through Friday,” she said. “If someone would like to receive a vaccine, we encourage them to call us at 336-401-8400 to schedule an appointment and let us know which vaccine brand they prefer, but we will also accept walk-ins.”
She said her department continues offering no-cost testing as well, but the department is no longer tracking the total number of tests administered.
CDC officials this week expressed concern about outbreaks flaring up among those who have not been vaccinated, given the upcoming Memorial Day weekend and its associated gatherings around the nation.
Nationwide, 131,850,089 Americans had been vaccinated as of 6 a.m. on Wednesday, according to Becker’s Hospital Review. That equals 39.7% of the nation’s population.
North Carolina lags most of the states in the percentage of its population which is fully vaccinated, ranking 35th of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. All totaled, 35.51% of the state’s population is fully vaccinated.
Vermont has the best compliance with vaccination recommendations, with 53.59% of its population fully vaccinated. Five states are above the 50% mark, while the District of Columbia and 24 states are above 40%.
At the bottom is Mississippi, with just 26.91% of its population fully vaccinated, while Alabama is the only other state lower than 30%, with just 28.95% of its population fully vaccinated.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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