During the last days of September, rural communities in the Middle Peninsula and the Northern Neck had a surge in coronavirus cases.
Because of privacy rules, the local department of health is not allowed to give out any details of where surges occurred. That’s when rumors began to spread.
On the state Department of Health website Three Rivers, New River and Western Tidewater Health Districts were red. Lisa Laurier, the health manager for Three Rivers said community spread surged, bringing cases to a care facility in the Middle Peninsula and a business in the Northern Neck. "Just because
you don’t frequent that business or you don’t work at that care facility, doesn’t mean that you’re at less risk," Laurier noted. "Because how that business might have gotten it or the care facility might have gotten COVID in there in the first place has to with community spread. Someone got it in the community and then brought it to work."
Rumors targeted grocery stores and a large employer in the Northern Neck, the Omega Protein fish rendering plant in Reedville. A spokesman for Omega said they actively have “a handful of positive cases” and during this year’s fishing season, a very small percentage of their workforce tested positive.
Adding to the rumor-mill, editorials in local papers that rely on unscientific arguments to challenge mask wearing and other COVID-related data. And, while people here are getting better about wearing masks, there is still confusion in the community about how to safely go to an indoor venue. "A high risk exposure is considered if they’re not wearing a mask, less than six feet apart for more than 15 minutes," Lisa Laurier explained.
There are additional reasons for not disclosing the location of an outbreak, she said. "It might panic some people and more importantly it can be anywhere. People need to realize that the virus doesn’t care where it is. And it doesn’t care who it infects. So, you have to take precautions wherever you go to make sure that you are not exposed to the virus."
Click here for COVID-19 data from the Virginia Dept. of Health
This week, the number of cases in the Three Rivers and New River districts have slowed. But the Western Tidewater District is still in a surge.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.