Liberty, NY – With COVID-19 cases climbing towards the three-digit mark – after having been in the single digits just a month ago – Sullivan County Public Health Services is urging people to take proper precautions, including getting vaccinated.
“In just a week’s time, our active cases have tripled, from 24 on July 26 to 72 on August 2,” noted Public Health Director Nancy McGraw. “This indicates transmission is becoming widespread again.”
Over the past weekend, four people were hospitalized with coronavirus, with one serious enough to be admitted to an intensive care unit. While no new deaths have been recorded for some time, over 100 people are currently in quarantine.
“With the much more contagious Delta variant widespread nationally, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) placing us in its ‘substantial’ transmission zone, I’m once again strongly encouraging everyone – vaccinated or unvaccinated – to wear masks indoors in situations where you cannot be at least six feet away from another person, and even outdoors when social distance cannot be maintained and you are in a large group for extended periods of time,” McGraw stated.
TOP 5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT COVID-19 AND DELTA VARIANT
1. Getting vaccinated prevents severe illness, hospitalization, and death; it also helps reduce the spread of the virus in communities. Unvaccinated individuals should get vaccinated and continue masking until they are fully vaccinated. With the Delta variant, this is more urgent than ever. The highest spread of cases and severe outcomes are happening in places with low vaccination rates.
2. Data show Delta is different than past versions of the virus: it is much more contagious. Some vaccinated people can get Delta in a breakthrough infection and may be contagious. Even so, vaccinated individuals represent a very small amount of transmission occurring around the country. Virtually all hospitalizations and deaths continue to be among the unvaccinated.
3. In areas with substantial and high transmission, CDC recommends that everyone (including fully vaccinated individuals) wear a mask in public indoor settings to help prevent the spread of Delta and protect others.
4. CDC recommends that community leaders encourage vaccination and masking to prevent further outbreaks in areas of substantial and high transmission.
5. CDC recommends universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status. Children should return to full-time in-person learning in the fall with layered prevention strategies in place.
“We have a chance to avoid returning to the rough days of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s going to take a Countywide effort of everyone doing their part,” she added. “If you’re not yet vaccinated but you’re able to be, get vaccinated. It’s not a 100% guarantee that you won’t catch COVID-19, but it will significantly improve your chances of not becoming seriously ill – and it will greatly help lessen the spread of the virus, which threatens to again upend our lives if we don’t keep it under control.”
For children ages 12-17 returning to school in just 5 weeks, now is the time to get them vaccinated in order to have full protective immunity before school starts. Public Health offers Pfizer doses (ages 12 and older) every Wednesday from 2-6 p.m. at its offices at 50 Community Lane in Liberty. Walk in or register at sullivanny.us/Departments/Publichealth/COVIDvaccines/clinics.
Other locations where you can get vaccinated can be found at www.vaccines.gov, by texting your zip code to 438829, or by calling 1-800-232-0233.
Individuals who have questions about COVID-19 testing should call the New York State COVID-19 Hotline at 1-888-364-3065.