By Daniel Winningham
This past Monday, many individuals were not working due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day federal holiday. However, it was an opportunity for certain individuals to begin the process of getting immunized.
The Perry County Health Department administered first doses of Covid-19 vaccine to health care workers, by appointment, to 138 people Jan. 18.
Plans are being finalized to schedule a Covid-19 vaccination later this month.
Case number update
The PCHD reported 45 active cases of Covid-19 as of Jan. 18. There have been eight new lab-confirmed cases and three probable cases since a Jan. 15 update was provided. In addition, a reported 21 individuals have recovered.
Since the pandemic began there have been a total of 2,277 cases. This tally includes 2,040 lab confirmed cases, 237 probably cases, 2,200 recovered cases and 32 deaths.
For cases by age, there have been more than 300 positive cases for those 20 and younger, 40-49, 50-59 and 60-69. Age categories with more than 200 cases to date include 20-29, 30-39 and 70-79 with those testing positive age 80 and older still below 200.
The county surpassed 500 total cases in early September, was past 1,000 cases in November and surged past 1,500 total cases in mid-November. Total cases climbed past 2,000 shortly before Christmas. However, the reported number of active cases has been in decline since reaching a high of better than 250 just before Thanksgiving.
In terms of mode of transmission, the county is reporting 1,379 via contact, 886 cases with no known contact as well as another 12 cases that are still under investigation.
