‘No avoiding this virus’: 10 things the Rock Hill region should know about COVID-19 surge
South Carolina surpassed 1 million total COVID-19 cases this week, breaking records for new weekly and daily totals across the state.
The new weekly record of 50,653 cases tops the previous mark set exactly one year ago during the first week of January 2021 with 40,373 cases, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Here’s what we know about changing CDC recommendation, the introduction of the new Omicron variant and what numbers look like in the Rock Hill region:
1. Case numbers in all three counties are shooting straight up, with an almost vertical trend. On January 5, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control reported York County had 552 confirmed cases of the virus. Compare that to Dec. 23, where there were only 140. In Chester and Lancaster, case numbers remain relatively low, but still much higher than just a week ago. In Chester, cases were down to just 9 confirmed cases on Dec. 23; by Dec. 30, cases spiked to 37. On December 31, Lancaster Count reported 110 confirmed cases; on December 23, that number was 35.
2. York, Lancaster and Chester counties are all considered “high risk” by DHEC. This means there is an incident rate of more than 200 infected per 100,000 people.
3. Hospitalizations in the tri-counties have remained relatively low. 2.6% of people with COVID in York County are currently hospitalized; 3.8% in Chester; and 3% in Lancaster.
4. However, hospitals usually utilized by the area are filling up. (Remember that beds are still occupied by people whose cases were reported previously and are still recovering.) 98% of inpatient beds in the Novant Health system are currently full, David. H Priest, Senior Vice President and Chief Safety, Quality & Epidemiology Officer said at a press briefing Tuesday. Novant has two locations in Rock Hill and one in Lancaster, as well as multiple locations in nearby Charlotte, which treat patients from the tri-counties. The New York Times, which updates its online database on ICU capacity daily, reports that Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill’s ICU is 82% full.
5. While officials have predicted a spike in student and teacher cases in schools, it will be difficult to see the full picture for at least a week, as most students returned to school Wednesday. However, here are the current counts for our local school districts: Clover School District currently has 96 active student cases; Fort Mill Schools currently report 37; Lancaster County School District currently reports 44; Rock Hill Schools currently report 117 and Chester County School District reported 16 cases at its latest update (Dec 31).
6. Priest says that Novant continues to see a majority of non-vaccinated and non-boosted patients. “At Novant Health, system wide, we now have 500 patients in the hospital with COVID, or who are recovering from COVID, and still, over 80% of those patients are not vaccinated. And 98% of those cases are unvaccinated, or vaccinated and un-boosted.”
7. The majority of vaccinated patients admitted to hospitals are “older patients with health problems, who are not boosted,” Priest says. The average age is 75.
8. Officials say that eventually, everyone will have some sort of antibodies to protect them from COVID infection. “There’s no avoiding this virus. As it becomes endemic, everybody will eventually have anybodies to it, whether by getting infected, getting vaccinated against it, or both,” Priest says.
9. The Center for Disease Control has approved booster shots for everyone 12 and older. It has also shortened the time needed between vaccines. Instead of a six-month waiting period, you can now get your booster after 5 months
10. Other CDC guidelines changed this week. Priest says the new protocols are most likely due to the shorter incubation time of the Omicron variant. The CDC’s recommendations are as follows: If exposed to COVID-19, quarantine for five days, and wear a mask for five days after. If you are up to date vaccinated (meaning you got your vaccine less than five months ago or have received a booster shot), you do not need to quarantine, but should get a COVID test five days after exposure and wear a mask for ten days.
This story was originally published January 6, 2022 at 7:51 AM.
