Local COVID-19 cases continue slow climb as new contagious variant circulates

Angela Roberts, The Frederick News-Post, Md.
·3 min read

Jul. 13—Coronavirus cases in Frederick County have continued their slow upward trajectory, even as a highly infectious version of the COVID-19 omicron variant circulates nationwide.

The local positivity rate has increased slightly since mid-June, but remains below levels seen in May.

The measure — a comparison of positive COVID-19 tests and the total number of tests administered — stood at 12.77% as of Monday. It hit 15.27% on May 23, the rate's most recent peak since omicron brutalized the country earlier this year.

Omicron remains the dominant COVID-19 variant in the United States. BA.5, an especially contagious type of the omicron variant, was responsible for 56.3% of cases in Maryland, four nearby states and Washington, D.C., last week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It's even more prevalent nationwide: 65% of cases around the country were from BA.5 last week, according to the same data.

There is no evidence so far that BA.5 causes more serious illness than other omicron subvariants. But public health experts warn that it appears to be very good at evading the protections people have from previous COVID-19 infections.

"So, people who have already been sick may not be any more protected because of that prior illness," Frederick County Health Department spokeswoman and epidemiologist Rissah Watkins said Tuesday.

People who get infected multiple times with COVID-19 may have a higher risk of developing long-COVID symptoms, according to preliminary research by Ziyad Al-Aly, a clinical epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis.

COVID-19 Community Levels — a CDC measure based on hospital capacity, admissions and new coronavirus cases in an area — remain low in Frederick County.

But the Community Transmission Level — which is based on an area's rate of new coronavirus cases and positive tests — is high, according to the CDC.

The CDC has categorized COVID-19 transmission levels in Frederick County as high since early May, Watkins said.

The federal agency recommends municipalities use the Community Level tool to make decisions about what prevention steps to implement. It instructs hospitals, nursing homes and health care settings to use the Community Transmission Level tool for decision-making.

To be counted in the county's positivity rate and case total, a person infected with COVID-19 has to be tested for the virus.

But the data available clearly show there is a "significant" amount of the virus still circulating locally, Watkins said.

"People need to take the precautions that are necessary for them to be at a level of risk that they feel comfortable with," Watkins said.

Seven people with COVID-19 were being treated in the local hospital on Monday, according to county data. Two of the patients were in the intensive care unit.

The county hadn't recorded any deaths from the virus in July as of Tuesday. Last month, the county recorded nine COVID-19 deaths. In May, it was two deaths.

Nearly 80% of the county's population is fully vaccinated against the virus, though only about 56% of the population has gotten a booster shot. Everyone 5 and older is eligible to get boosted after completing their primary vaccine series.

Kids who are between 6 months and 5 years old are now also eligible to get vaccinated. Parents and caregivers can make an appointment for their child at health.frederickcountymd.gov/629/COVID-19-Vaccine.

Follow Angela Roberts on Twitter: @24_angier