Belmont County Surpasses 10,000 COVID-19 Cases
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More than 10,000 Belmont County residents have contracted the coronavirus since the pandemic began, while cases seem to be plateauing in neighboring counties.
Deputy Health Commissioner Robert Sproul said Friday that the county had surpassed the 10,000 mark with 10,085 total cases. It also has recorded 139 deaths related to COVID-19. Sproul said there were 451 active cases Friday; 31 new cases were recorded on THursday alone. Sproul said eight of the infected individuals were hospitalized as a result of their illness. The health department's Facebook page showed 9,114 recovered.
Sproul said the virus is not going away and noted that talk in the medical community is that a fourth wave, which he said is what we're experiencing now, may be followed by a fifth wave as the result of a new variant.
"This virus is very strange," he said.
Sproul said that to see a real impact, at least 70% of the population would need to be vaccinated. Only about 46 percent of Belmont County's population has received the shots.
"It varies, we still have ongoing clinics," he said of people coming in for a vaccine.
And things have changed regarding age eligibility with children 5 years and older now able to receive a vaccine.
"We're hoping it will help move that along," Sproul said, but he acknowledged people are becoming numb to the whole situation. He said the lifting of mask mandates likely has contributed to that attitude. "We're still seeing lots of people getting sick. ... It's not going away," Sproul said.
The virus is stubbornly hanging around, but in some areas the number of cases appears to be plateauing, according to Harrison County Health Administrator Garen Rhome.
Rhome reported 19 new cases from Tuesday into Wednesday, which brought the past week's total from the low thirties to 50 active cases — about where it had been for some time. Rhome said the numbers are not necessarily down but they aren't drastically up, either. He described it as hitting a plateau. He said the county is still experiencing low vaccination rates and noted that out of those 19 new cases, only one was a vaccinated person.
Monroe County Health Department Director of Nursing Kara Dixon said numbers there are also holding steady. Cases from Nov. 2-9 show 28 new cases and 63 new cases since the end of October, but far fewer than what Harrison County has been showing.
Dixon expressed concern as the holidays loom ahead about what kind of consequences will result from family gatherings. As of Tuesday, deaths in the county had reached 54 with the same number of active cases. Recovered cases are listed at 2,132.
"It's a big concern," Dixon said of celebrations that likely will occur through the remainder of the year.