The Shadow
New coronavirus cases leaped in the Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts over the past week. Health officials reported 888 new cases.
“This is disappointing but not unpredictable, based on the trends at this point,” Dr. Cynthia Morrow, the medical director for the health districts, said Tuesday during an online media briefing.
Morrow said cases of COVID-19 are beginning to rise again in the United States and throughout Virginia. Health officials had predicted a surge in cases with people moving indoors for activities due to colder weather. More indoor gatherings are also occurring with the onset of the Christmas holiday season.
“We expect this trajectory will continue because of people gathering over the holidays,” she said.
A University of Virginia forecasting model projects that cases will continue to rise in the Roanoke-Alleghany region until they reach a peak in early March.
Meanwhile, Morrow is still imploring people to get vaccinated against the virus. Approximately 15,000 doses of vaccine were administered to people in the Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts over the past week. Most of those doses were boosters administered to individuals who were already fully vaccinated.
“If you have not yet had your booster, I strongly, strongly encourage you to get your booster,” Morrow said.
New COVID cases are continuing to predominately affect younger segments of the population. Last week, around 15 percent of new cases were reported in people under the age of 18. Moreover, 47 percent of the new cases occurred in people under the age of 35.
“We believe that a large part of that is because of the low vaccination rates in that age group,” Morrow said. “The disease actually mirrors the vaccination rates, which to me, proves how effective the vaccines are.”
On Monday, 74 people were hospitalized in the Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts due to COVID. Fifty represented new hospitalizations.
The COVID death toll also continues to rise. On Tuesday, the cumulative deaths in the two health districts stood at 680.
As of Tuesday, no cases of the new omicron strain of the virus had been confirmed in the health districts. But Morrow said it’s only a matter of time before cases appear.
“We have every reason to believe that omicron will get to our community. Omicron is just one more reminder of how malleable this virus is,” she said.
Health officials believe that vaccines and boosters are effective against the omicron variant. More will be known as the virus spreads and it is studied by health experts.
With disease activity high in communities as the Christmas holidays approach, Morrow recommends that individuals follow U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommendations for indoor gatherings:
— Wear well-fitting masks over your nose and mouth if you are in public indoor settings if you are not fully vaccinated.
— Even those who are fully vaccinated should wear a mask in public indoor settings in communities with substantial to high transmission.
— Avoid crowded, poorly ventilated spaces.
— If you are sick or have symptoms, don’t host or attend a gathering.
“We really have the ability to control this through a layer of mitigation strategies,” she said.
On Tuesday, 86.5 percent of Virginia’s adult population has received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine — approximately 75 percent of the total population.
In Alleghany County, 68.9 percent of adults had received at least one dose of vaccine. The percentage in Covington was 64.5 percent.
