In its latest newsletter, the Delaware Public Health District (DPHD) said the current COVID-19 community level is low.
A link on the update goes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A map of Ohio shows that Delaware County and most surrounding counties also are at a low level. However, Marion County and many others have a medium COVID-19 level. Eleven of the state’s 88 counties have a high COVID-19 level.
“COVID-19 Community Levels were calculated on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022,” the CDC said. The metrics are, “New COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population (weekly total) are calculated using data from Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022 — Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022. New COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population (seven-day total) and percent of inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients (seven-day average) are calculated using data from Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022 — Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022.”
The CDC recommends the following when the COVID-19 community level is low: “Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines. Get tested if you have symptoms. Wear a mask if you have symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19. Wear a mask on public transportation. You may choose to wear a mask at any time as an additional precaution to protect yourself and others.”
Nearly 82% of Delaware County residents, or 171,371 people, have had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 78% have completed their primary series of shots.
Nationwide, 99.7 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported, resulting in more than a million deaths. However, cases, deaths, and hospital admissions due to the infectious disease are all trending down.
This time of year, there’s a lot going around: the cold, flu, RSV and COVID-19. Perhaps of most concern to parents currently is the measles, where an outbreak of more than 70 cases has been reported recently in central Ohio. Measles is a viral infection that includes a skin rash of red dots.
The DPHD has issued a School Response Plan for measles exposures in four steps:
• Once a child is determined to have a case of measles, they will be immediately excluded from the school building.
• All unvaccinated students and staff will be excluded from the school building as soon as possible. Unvaccinated people have 90% chance of getting measles if exposed.
• The Health District and your student’s school will begin working to identify students who were exposed to the case of measles.
• The Health District will notify the families of the students who were exposed.
