There have been 517 new cases of COVID-19 reported in the past week in the San Luis Valley, and it appears that they have passed the peak of the current wave.
Local COVID-19 related hospital admissions have slowed considerably but have not stopped.
There will continue to be many new cases even as our numbers go down, so precautions are still in order. The amount of virus circulating in the community is still extremely high, presenting risks that range from workplace disruptions to hospitalization and death. Wear a mask in public indoor spaces. Stay home if you have any symptoms, and get tested if possible. Observe quarantine guidance if you have had close contact with someone who has COVID-19. If household members can’t isolate from each other when one household member has COVID-19, the entire household should quarantine until at least 5 days after the last positive person’s isolation has ended, and then diligently wear a mask in public for another 5 days after that.
It is not too late to get vaccinated and boosted. In last week’s Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report (MMWR) from the CDC, data showed that protection against infection and death during the emergence of the Omicron variant was highest among booster vaccine dose recipients, especially among persons aged 50 and older. In a study of 29 jurisdictions in the United States, adults who were unvaccinated had a risk of infection 5 times that of adults who had received a vaccine booster.
