In Johnson County, there is an increase in COVID cases from the BA.2 subvariant. This is what we know | KCUR 89.3

A new, highly infectious subvariant of COVID-19 has been transmitted to Johnson County, increasing the number of cases this week and recommending that high-risk individuals be wary of wearing masks.

Elizabeth Holtzsch, director of epidemiology at the county health department, told the county commissioner Thursday that case rates and positive test rates are on the rise, indicating that the BA.2 version of the Omicron coronavirus is here. Told.

“BA.2, which has hit other cities and states, seems to be here and influential,” she said. “People should be aware that if they are at high risk or are gathered in a large venue, they need to be masked as a special precaution to prevent infection.”

However, there was no recommendation for the county to revert to previous mitigations such as the Mask Rule.

Of the county COVID-19 Dashboard Since reaching the lowest point about three weeks ago, the number of cases has been increasing, albeit slightly.

As of Friday morning, the dashboard shows an incidence of 64 per 100,000 inhabitants over the past 7 days, compared to 23 per 100,000 on March 20.

The positive rate is currently 6.1%, but almost a month ago the lowest was 2.2%.

However, the data may not accurately represent reality, Holtzsch said.

“These numbers could dramatically underestimate what’s happening in our community,” she said.

Holzschuh said wastewater analysis confirmed elevated levels of BA.2 in the region as well.

According to the county health department’s epidemiology team, a new version of the coronavirus was first detected in Johnson County, where it resides on January 12, this year, and has increased since then.

Latest analysis by BiobotA company investigating coronavirus wastewater samples found that BA.2 as of March 30 accounted for 56% of the variants.

Subvariants are easier to catch than previous versions of COVID-19 and are proliferating in other countries as well.The case has been It is rising in the northeastern United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, BA.2 currently accounts for 86% of cases nationwide.

It is not yet known how the new strain will affect hospitalization. According to Holtzsch, hospitalization with COVID usually lags behind the increase in the number of cases.

Thursday’s daily report by the Kansas University Hospital System showed that there are five patients with active infectious diseases in the hospital, said infectious disease specialist Dr. Dana Hawkinson. He said it could take up to three weeks for a significant increase in COVID-related hospitalizations to appear.

According to the CDC website, Johnson County is still Areas with a low risk of illness.

Holzschuh says the county is listed as “green” on its site, but “that really means that if you get sick with COVID-19, you have a hospital bed for you.” I warned.

Holzschuh told the commissioner during a Q & A session on Thursday that the county health department had reduced contact tracing and terminated almost all tracer contracts. The move will reduce the number of tracked staff from 30 to 3.

She said the remaining people were focused on school and day care outbreaks.

In response to another question, Holzschuh recommends that elderly people and people with comorbidities, who have another chronic condition that may exacerbate the effects of COVID-19, take a second booster shot. I did.

booster Recently available For people over 50 and certain immunocompromised individuals.

“We know it’s here and it hits us,” she says, trying to time booster shots perfectly may be like trying to time the stock market. He added that it wasn’t.

“If you’re in that age group or at high risk, I definitely recommend that second booster,” she said.

This story was originally published Shawnee mission post.