Greene County continues to see new cases of Covid-19. Greene County public health director Becky Wolf reports that as of Tuesday morning, March 16, the 14-day positivity rate for testing is 5.9 percent, up from 4.6 percent on March 11.
The rate has more than tripled in the past three weeks. The 14-day positivity rate was as low as 1.4 percent Feb. 23, just three weeks ago.
There has been a total of 813 cases in the county; 101 are considered active as of March 16. There have been 10 deaths due to Covid-19.
Wolf also updated vaccine numbers. As of March 11, a total of 3,163 doses have been provided to Greene County residents; 1,168 residents have been fully vaccinated. Within the 65 years and older age group, a total of 1,845 doses have been given. Thirty percent are fully vaccinated, increased from 26 percent on March 11.
The Centers for Disease Control recommends continuing Covid-19 precautions even after being vaccinated. Covid-19 vaccines are effective at protecting persons from getting sick, and a person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the last required dose of vaccine.
While the rate of vaccinations is increasing, the CDC estimated that just 9.2 percent of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated. Until at least 80 percent of the population is vaccinated, even those who are vaccinated should continue precautions to protect those who aren’t vaccinated.
According to CDC guidance issued March 8, fully vaccinated people should continue wearing a mask and taking the current precautions when visiting with unvaccinated people who are not members of your household, and when around unvaccinated people who are at high risk of becoming severely ill from Covid-19.
If you’ve been fully vaccinated:
- You can gather indoors with fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask
- You can gather indoors with unvaccinated people with unvaccinated people or other members of your own household unless someone they live with has an increased risk for severe illness from Covid-19
- If you’ve been around someone who has Covid-19, you do not need to stay away from others or get tested unless you have symptoms. However, if you live in a group home setting and are around someone with Covid-19, you should still stay away from others for 14 days and get tested, even if you don’t have symptoms.
