Sheridan adds seven more cases of COVID-19 to the county total

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Sheridan County has had 2,661 total lab confirmed cases. That’s an increase of seven in the last 24 hours. 

In the last 24 hours seven patients have also recovered from the illness. 

According to Sheridan County COVID-19 Public Information Officer Jennifer Graves, there are currently 48 active cases in the county. It is likely that another 24 cases of the virus are active in the community. 

There have been no new hospitalizations from the virus. According to Graves, one patient has recovered enough to be released, leaving nine patients hospitalized in Sheridan County.

According to Sheridan Memorial Hospital Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Addlesperger, it is not clear yet if the delta variant makes people more sick or suffer symptoms to a greater extreme. What is clear is the delta variant is much more transmissible. 

In May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention informed the public that vaccinated individuals may remove their masks. That was before the CDC learned new information in regards to the delta variant’s ability to infect those who have been vaccinated. This new information caused the CDC to recommend the use of masks or face coverings even among the vaccinated in the last week of July. 

This change in recommendations is in response to the delta variant’s ability to be transmitted by the vaccinated and unvaccinated alike. The recommendations are a move to slow the transmission of the delta variant that had spread through parts of India (where the first case of the mutations was recorded in Dec. 2020) and the UK. 

Although not a popular recommendation among the population, the use of the masks during large indoor public gatherings, even by those fully vaccinated, is being echoed by local medical professionals in an effort to protect residents suffering from autoimmune deficiencies and children too young to receive the vaccines. By slowing the transmission of the virus, its chances of mutating again are also greatly reduced, Addlesperger said. Every new infection of the virus poses a threat of a mutation, he said. Most mutations die in the body or do not affect the virus or the host, others, like the delta variant, mutate with negative and in some cases, deadly attributes to the public. 

The CDC has set Sheridan County’s Level of Community Transmission as HIGH. In less than a month’s time, Sheridan Memorial Hospital has seen a sharp incline of testing for the virus as well as increased hospitalizations. Although the hospital has plenty of space, staff and PPE to care for those requiring hospitalization currently, the speed and aggressive transmission of the delta variant has the possibility of overcrowding beds and equipment. 

Thirty-one Sheridan County residents have died as a result of COVID-19, and that’s a number every medical professional can agree is already too high.  

More COVID-19 data and information is available at www.sheridancounty.com/covid-19/.