An Increase of New Cases Leads to Extension of Mask Mandate
Monroe County’s COVID-19 positivity rate jumped to 21.5%, up from 20.6% in just one day.
379 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed on Thursday of last week, compared to 352 cases on Wednesday.
According to Indiana Public Media, exactly 41% of the ICU beds in the district are occupied by COVID-19 patients, with only 11.5% of beds still being available for use.
With this statistic in mind, the Monroe County Board of Health decided to extend the county-wide mask mandate for another month last Thursday.
According to board member Mark Nurrell, “It’s a good thing we have a mask mandate, but I sense that some of our high incidence of new cases over the past week are because Omicron gets around these cloth masks.” He explained, “Now is the time to upgrade your mask. Upgrade it to an N95. Upgrade to a KN95.”
To keep up to date with Monroe County’s COVID-19 cases, click here now.
Things to Know About the Omicron Variant
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Omicron variant can now be detected in most states and territories in the United States.
Knowing this, it is likely that the Omicron variant will spread more easily than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Also, current vaccines are expected to protect against severe illness, hospitalizations, and deaths due to infection with the Omicron variant.
The CDC, global public health institutions, and other industry partners are continuing to collaborate to learn more about Omicron as they monitor its course.
Learn more about the Omicron variant and what precautions the CDC recommends here.
Like what you’re reading?
Recent Comments