The Department of Health reported Monday that 57,703 new cases of COVID-9 were reported in the Old Dominion from 5 p.m. Thursday through 5 p.m. Sunday — another record weekend outbreak — along with 1,706 new hospitalizations and 21 new deaths.
Floyd County reported 59 new cases over the weekend, plus another hospitalization, bringing its total up to 61
Virginia went into last weekend with 18,309 new cases of COVID-19 and 789 hospitalizations, including yet another 10 new infections in Floyd County, yet we saw too many parents and students in the stands of the Chance Harman Classic at the county high school Saturday with no masks and no social distancing.
The Lady Buffaloes, scheduled to play Auburn in the classic, could not play because they were quarantined after a positive test of the virus among the coaching staff.
Nationally, new cases are average 677,243 daily, with 1559 deaths and 138,414 hospitalizations. Cases are rising by 215%.
On Dec. 30, 2020, Floyd County reached 500 cases with nine new infections reported that day. This past Friday, the county added 10 new cases to a total of 1,869 infections, an increase of 1,369, then another 59 cases over the weekend to bring the total to over 1,400.
In Virginia, 78.4% of the Commonwealth’s adults are “fully vaccinated” (which does not include the booster shot) while less than half of those have received the booster. In Floyd County, the percentage of adults “fully vaccinated” falls to 57.3%, and those who have received the booster drop to 22.9%.
If an adult sits in an athletic event with three others in Floyd County, the odds are that lonely one of the three is fully protected,
Consider this: CDC reports that since January 2000, one out of every six people in the United States have contracted the virus and one in 397 have died.
While a range of medical experts like the Virginia Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control, and the leading infectious disease spokesman at the White House cautioned that the pandemic is far from over.
But that is ignored by nearly half of the adult population of Floyd County, who are not “fully vaccinated” and only about one-fifth have received the booster shot.