FAYETTEVILLE, WV (WOAY) – “It’s not over.”
And it might not be close, with Fayette County seeing 69 new cases of COVID-19 in the past week, including 20 breakthrough cases for people who are vaccinated. While the delta variant hasn’t been confirmed in the county yet, health officials say that the recent spread is consistent with that strand.
“When one person gets it, there’s so many more people that could potentially be exposed and transmitted to,” said Fayette County Health Officer Dr. Anita Stewart.
Recent outbreaks have contributed to that spread, including at Jan Care Ambulance.
“There is enough cases in particular areas that we have decided to implement a company-wide COVID stance,” said Jan Care Ambulance Director of Operations Paul Seamann.
Stewart admits that the county’s current vaccination rate of 59% of all eligible people isn’t good enough. With cases on the rise, improving that number is still the best way to protect from the virus.
“The people that are getting COVID that have been vaccinated are not requiring hospitalization,” Stewart said. “And they’re not dying from this.”
Jan Care reinstalled its mask mandate last week after its outbreak. As of Monday, Fayette County is now encouraging everyone to wear masks indoors where there might be high transmission, regardless of vaccination status.
“We have to protect our employees,” Seamann said. “We have to protect the patients that they’re going to be transporting.”
