Although numbers continue to decline, the coronavirus pandemic isn't over yet

Dean Hensley, Hendersonville Times-News
·3 min read
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HENDERSON COUNTY - Many people think the coronavirus pandemic is in the past, and while it's true that cases continue to decline, experts say it isn't over yet and likely won't be anytime soon.

Just a day ago, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said he had tested positive for COVID and would be working remotely. Although the federal government ended its national public health emergency for the coronavirus on May 11, it's a virus that will always be with us, according to World Health Organization Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“Last week, COVID-19 claimed a life every three minutes – and that’s just the deaths we know about," said Ghebreyesus on May 5, briefing the media at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva a week before the federal government's national public health emergency ended. “It is still killing and it is still changing. The risk remains of new variants emerging that cause new surges in cases and deaths.”

An AdventHealth Medical Group member asks questions of a patient March 19, 2020 as teams provide COVID-19 testing for patients outside Medical Office Building at 50 Hospital Drive, Hendersonville.
An AdventHealth Medical Group member asks questions of a patient March 19, 2020 as teams provide COVID-19 testing for patients outside Medical Office Building at 50 Hospital Drive, Hendersonville.

Globally, as of July 12, there have been 767 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 6.9 million deaths, reported to the World Health Organization's dashboard at https://covid19.who.int/. Although the numbers are staggering, since the start of the virus in January 2020, there has been a large decline in cases and deaths, the CDC reported.

That is true locally as well. At both local hospitals, UNC Health Pardee and AdventHealth Hendersonville, there is a minimal number of patients being treated for COVID.

"As of 11:30 a.m. July 10, there were two patients hospitalized for COVID-19 at UNC Health Pardee," Dr. Greg McCarty, chief medical officer of UNC Health Pardee, told the Times-News on July 18. "Pardee saw a decline in cases around the end of flu season in early May and has not experienced any drastic increases or decreases since that time. An average of two to three patients at any given time has been fairly typical for the past few months."

AdventHealth Hendersonville hasn't had a COVID patient since June 28, according to spokesperson Victoria Dunkle.

"AdventHealth Hendersonville continues to see the steep decline in COVID-19-positive patients requiring hospitalization. Over the past month, we had only three days in which we had a COVID-19-positive patient in our care in the hospital, the most recent being June 28. On each of those days, our team was caring for just one COVID-19-positive patient," Dunkle said on July 18. "This trend aligns with the benefits of the vaccines at reducing the severity of symptoms and access to medications that reduce the severity and length of COVID-19 infections in people."

Sherman's Sports and Army Store worker Becca Chamberlain rrings up customer Ruth Benson of Charlotte during the first hour of the Open Streets event in downtownn Hendersonville May 30, 2020. Store owner Becky Banadyga placed a sign on the front door asking customers to wear face coverings to protect themselves and others from COVID-19 infection
Sherman's Sports and Army Store worker Becca Chamberlain rrings up customer Ruth Benson of Charlotte during the first hour of the Open Streets event in downtownn Hendersonville May 30, 2020. Store owner Becky Banadyga placed a sign on the front door asking customers to wear face coverings to protect themselves and others from COVID-19 infection

In Henderson County, the total number of deaths caused by COVID since the virus was first reported in January 2020 is 384, with the most being in 2021 (127) and 2022 (134), according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. So far this year, there have been 18 deaths.

The key to the decline is vaccines, McCarty said.

"Vaccination remains the most effective means of preventing serious illness as a result of COVID-19. We continue to encourage vaccinations for those individuals in our community who remain unvaccinated, and boosters for eligible individuals, particularly those who are immunocompromised," McCarty said. "If you are over age 50, and especially over age 65, and have either not been vaccinated or have significant medical conditions, please consider wearing a mask in more crowded public spaces."

According to an article by the Cleveland Clinic, in the weeks before May 11, 2023, the CDC was still reporting more than 100,000 cases in the US every week, resulting in hospitalizations and deaths in the thousands.

"It’s probably safe to assume numbers are continuing to decline - especially as we move into the summer - but the virus isn’t in the rearview mirror by any means," the article said.

Dean Hensley is the news editor for the Hendersonville Times-News. Email him with tips, questions and comments at DHensley@gannett.com. Please help support this kind of local journalism with a subscription to the Hendersonville Times-News.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Still a threat: Despite decline in cases, deaths, pandemic isn't over