Highland County has passed into the highest risk category in terms of community transmission, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) COVID-19 Data Tracker.
There are four different levels of community transmission — low, moderate, substantial and high. Highland County has now passed into the high designation this week.
The CDC said the data for the tracker comes from two different indicators: The total number of new cases per 100,000 residents within the last seven days; and the percentage of positive diagnostic and screening nucleic acid amplification tests during the last seven days.
According to a Wednesday night update from the Highland County Health Commissioner Jared Warner, the county’s case rate has passed 100 cases per 100,000 residents again, specifically 108.9.
According to The New York Times COVID Tracker, Highland County is seeing 6.9 new COVID-19 cases each day, which is about 16 cases per 100,000 residents.
Warner said that even though all schools in Highland County plan to start the year with mask recommendations for grades K-12, there will be no mask mandates for the time being.
“Our parents and students are aware that things may change quickly, and we may move to more strict mask policies, event postponements, and other measures if needed,” Warner said. “None of us want to get there, but we need to recognize this as something that may be necessary in the future. Schools have the potential to have serious impacts on the spread of disease in a community, and we need to keep that in mind as we begin sending our kids to school in the next week or two. I hope we can all be flexible and supportive as our schools continue to make hard choices.”
Warner said the Delta variant of COVID-19 continues to be seen in “high rates” in the U.S. and Ohio. He said the current surveillance systems don’t do a good job detecting the number of fully vaccinated people that get sick from COVID-19, but it does track vaccinated people that are hospitalized.
In other news, according to the COVID-19 Vaccination Dashboard on Thursday, the vaccination rate for Highland County was 30.87 percent.
Full statistics for Highland County can be seen below.
According to the dashboard, 30.87 percent of the residents in Highland County have started their vaccinations, equaling 13,323 people. The ODH considers started as “when an individual has received at least one valid dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.”
The dashboard lists the following COVID-19 figures for various age groups in Highland County:
* 0-19 — 601 people, or 5.40 percent, have started their vaccines.
* 20-29 — 865 people, or 17.52 percent, have started their vaccines.
* 30-39 — 1,037 people, or 21.51 percent, have started their vaccines.
* 40-49 — 1,498 people, or 28.43 percent, have started their vaccines.
* 50-59 — 2,364 people, or 40.82 percent, have started their vaccines.
* 60-64 — 1,636 people, or 53.69 percent, have started their vaccines.
* 65-69 — 1,605 people, or 61.99 percent, have started their vaccines.
* 70-74 — 1,423 people, or 66.68 percent, have started their vaccines.
* 75-79 — 1,016 people, or 67.64 percent, have started their vaccines.
* 80 and over — 1,278 people, or 65.77 percent, have started their vaccines.
According to the dashboard, 28.44 percent of the residents in Highland County have completed their vaccinations, equaling 12,273 people. The ODH considers completed when “an individual has received all recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses and is considered fully immunized.”
The dashboard lists the following COVID-19 figures for various age groups in Highland County:
* 0-19 — 471 people, or 4.23 percent, have completed their vaccines.
* 20-29 — 765 people, or 15.50 percent, have completed their vaccines.
* 30-39 — 921 people, or 19.10 percent, have completed their vaccines.
* 40-49 — 1,358 people, or 25.77 percent, have completed their vaccines.
* 50-59 — 2,192 people, or 37.85 percent, have completed their vaccines.
* 60-64 — 1,532 people, or 50.28 percent, have completed their vaccines.
* 65-69 — 1,481 people, or 57.20 percent, have completed their vaccines.
* 70-74 — 1,366 people, or 64.01 percent, have completed their vaccines.
* 75-79 — 962 people, or 64.05 percent, have completed their vaccines.
* 80 and over — 1,225 people, or 63.05 percent, have completed their vaccines.
Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.
