COVID hospitalizations remain low in Henderson County as cases slowly increase

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 are currently low in Henderson County as cases are once again on a slight uptick.

As of Friday, May 6, AdventHealth Hendersonville was caring for two COVID-19 patients with zero in the ICU. The hospital has ranged between zero and two COVID-19 patients over the past two weeks, according to Communications Director Victoria Dunkle. The average for that time period is 1.4 COVID-19 patients daily.

It is difficult to know the exact number of positive COVID cases in the community due to at-home testing, explained AdventHealth Hendersonville Chief Medical Officer Dr. Teresa Herbert.

“We are seeing an uptick in positive cases in the community and coming into the (emergency department),” Herbert said Friday. “We also know the true number of cases is a lot higher than reported because people are using home tests to diagnose their COVID-19, and home-tests are not usually reported.”

The state best tracks early warning indicators for COVID through virus particles found in wastewater and emergency room visits for COVID symptoms.

Approximately 12.2 million COVID-19 virus particles per person were found during the week ending April 27 in wastewater from participating treatment plants tracked by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. This is more than the 11.3 million reported the previous week. Emergency room visits for COVID symptoms have increased slightly in North Carolina, to 3% from 2% the previous week, according to NCDHHS. During the peak of the omicron wave, approximately 26% of emergency room visits in North Carolina were for COVID symptoms.

“Fortunately, the hospitalization rate is still remaining low. The reduced need for hospitalization is likely a result of a large number of people having been vaccinated, or having a case of COVID-19 already,” Herbert said. “This means our bodies can recognize the COVID-19 virus and quickly mount an immune response to fight it off. There is a tendency for viruses to evolve into milder strains over time, and COVID-19 has been circulating the globe for two and a half years now.”

Herbert expects to see more hospitalizations later in the year, but believes it won’t be like 2021.

“I expect cases will continue to occur throughout the spring and summer, but not to the same degree as last year. As we move back inside in the fall and winter and immunity wanes, I would anticipate an increase in hospitalizations from COVID-19,” she said.

As of Friday, there were zero patients hospitalized for COVID-19 at Pardee UNC Health Care.

“Even though we continue to see low hospitalization rates, it is important to note that positivity rates for testing are slightly elevated,” said Pardee Chief Medical Officer Dr. Greg McCarty. “During the week of April 25 - May 2, all of the Pardee UNC Health Care sites including Pardee Hospital, urgent cares, team member health, and outpatient clinics have performed 488 tests with 66 positive test results and an overall positive percentage rate of 13.5%. While this positive percentage is higher than we would like to see, we are encouraged that hospitalizations continue to remain low.”

“As always, 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."

Back in March, both Pardee and AdventHealth reported zero COVID patients for the first time in two years.

CDC classification

Henderson County continues to be classified as low risk for COVID-19 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

All but one of North Carolina’s 100 counties is currently considered low risk, according to the CDC’s U.S. COVID-19 Community Levels by County Map on Thursday, May 5. Alamance County is considered medium risk.

The CDC looks at the combination of three metrics — new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population in the past seven days, the percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients and total new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in the past seven days — to determine the COVID-19 community level.

The three classification levels are low, medium and high.

The CDC’s recommendations for low-risk counties are to stay up to date with vaccines and to get tested if you have COVID symptoms.

For more information, go to covid19.ncdhhs.gov/dashboard.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: COVID hospitalizations low in Henderson County as cases slowly rise