The number of new COVID-19 cases in the Roanoke area continued to grow on what's being called a concerning trajectory.
The director of the Roanoke City-Alleghany Health District reported 371 new cases over the past week, up from 230 the previous week. The number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 related complications also grew from 20 to 31.
Another concerning and frustrating feature of the increase, according to Dr. Cynthia Morrow, is the growing number of what are known as breakthrough cases among fully vaccinated people. Morrow said nearly 20 percent of the new cases and hospitalizations are people who have been fully vaccinated.
Morrow worries that trend will continue as long as there is a large percentage of of the community unvaccinated. None of the seven localities that make up the Roanoke City-Alleghany Health District has reached the threshold of 70% of the total population receiving at least one dose of vaccine. Roanoke County comes closest and has been stuck at 69% for weeks. Craig County is at the bottom of the list with only 45.5% of its population getting at least one shot. “Because our numbers are so high, the pandemic of COVID-19 in our unvaccinated population is really affecting our vaccinated population as well."
Morrow said most breakthrough cases have experienced milder symptoms. "While it is frustrating that we are seeing breakthrough cases, and I am as frustrated as anyone else that we’re seeing breakthrough cases, we have to keep that bigger picture in mind," Morrow said in a weekly conference call with reporters. "Our hospitalization and death rates are far lower than we would have seen last year."
The district recorded one additional death over the past week, bringing its total to 506.
Morrow: It’s pretty clear to me that we should have universal masking in schools....
Given the surge in cases in the Roanoke region and the inability to vaccinate children under the age of 12, Morrow said she believes schools should operate with universal masking policies. "From a public health perspective, it’s pretty clear to me that we should have universal masking in schools where there’s disease activity," Morrow said Tuesday.
The Centers for Disease Control has recommended masks for all students and staff regardless of vaccination status. The state health and education department guidelines encourage mask wearing for unvaccinated people and those in elementary schools but left the decision up to individual school divisions. The school boards in Roanoke and Botetourt counties, among others, recently voted to make masks optional for students.
Virginia Daily New Case Report Highest Since April 15th
The number of new COVID-19 cases reported by the Virginia Department of Health Tuesday was the highest since April 15th.
Virginia recorded 1,403 new cases Tuesday. The testing positivity rate ticked up to 6.1%. While those numbers are the highest since April, they're still significantly lower than what Virginia experience over the winter.
