By Jared Putnam
Staff Writer
"Flatten the curve" abruptly became a household phrase at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
Almost a year and a half later, the United States is once again scrambling to halt rapidly-rising Covid cases due to the Delta variant.
Clay County Health Department reported 53 known active cases of the virus as of Monday, pushing toward tripling the 20 active cases logged just seven days earlier.
A more important metric — hospitalizations due to Covid-19 — is also testing the capabilities of many hospitals, including ones that serve Clay County residents.
"Union General Hospital currently has 37 Covid inpatients," stated a post by Union County, Ga. Government officials on the agency's Facebook page Tuesday afternoon. "This number exceeds the number of confirmed positive inpatients that the hospital cared for at any one time during the January 2021 Covid surge."
At least 2,179 people were hospitalized with the virus in North Carolina as of Tuesday, the largest one-day total since mid-February. The state also experienced the largest single day jump in hospital ICU admissions since the beginning of the pandemic, climbing to 557 from 502 the day prior.
Weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations among people ages 20-49 are at an all-time high and 14 percent of all Covid-19 tests were reported positive as of Sunday. Public health officials say five percent or lower is the target rate to slow the spread of the virus.
"These high-levels of COVID-related admissions jeopardize the ability of our hospitals to provide needed care in our communities," said Kody H. Kinsley, Chief Deputy Secretary for Health at NCDHHS.
Clay County Health Director Clarissa Rogers updated the Clay County Board of Commissioners during the monthly meeting on Thursday, Aug. 5, when the county was at 34 active positive cases.
Rogers said only four of those 34 were fully-vaccinated individuals. She also stated that out of the 956 total cases in Clay County since the pandemic began, only 16 of those individuals have been fully vaccinated. Four cases have been due to a second infection, or reinfection, due to the virus.
"I'm all about perspective, and I just thought I'd keep things in perspective," said Rob Peck, Chairman of the Clay County Board of Commissioners. "So we hear these jumps, 34 cases, but I think it's important to talk about the 99.7 percent of us who aren't infected. Even with 34 cases, it's 0.3 percent or somewhere right around there, so, I think perspective is important and I just want to commend you guys (the health department) for the job you do."
The situation is worse in a number of states, including Arkansas, where various media outlets reported Monday that only eight beds are available in intensive care units across the entire state. In Florida, 14,787 people were hospitalized for Covid-19 as of Tuesday, 145 percent more than during the state’s previous high in July 2020, according to the Florida Hospital Association. The federal government sent hundreds of ventilators and other medical equipment to Florida this week to assist with its record-breaking number of Covid hospitalizations.
In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott announced Monday that the Texas Department of State Health Services will bring out-of-state medical personnel to Texas health care facilities to assist in Covid-19 operations.
According to data from North Carolina, 40 percent of the state's Covid-19 cases are in patients between ages 25-49 but they only account for four percent of virus-related deaths. Adults over 65 account for 81 percent. There have been at least 13,768 resident deaths in North Carolina due to the virus since the pandemic began.
"One of the most important things that our community can do to help is to consider getting vaccinated," Union County Government's statement went on to say. "No vaccine is 100 percent effective; however, it has been proven that the Covid-19 vaccine helps prevent severe illness, hospitalization, and death. Currently, around 90 percent or more of the patients requiring hospitalization at Union General Hospital are unvaccinated."
North Carolina is approaching almost 10 million doses of Covid vaccines administered, with at least 9,972,679 jabs issued thus far. Vaccination rate estimates vary somewhat for Clay County but have remained below the national and state percentages.
To schedule a Covid-19 vaccination, call the Clay County Health Department at 828-389-8052.