A Jefferson County teenager has been infected with COVID-19, officials with Jefferson County Public Health reported Monday afternoon.
The positive test for coronavirus was discovered in a male who …
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A Jefferson County teenager has been infected with COVID-19, officials with Jefferson County Public Health reported Monday afternoon.
The positive test for coronavirus was discovered in a male who is under the age of 19 and lives in the mid-county area, officials said.
The new case was one of two reported Oct. 26. A second infection was found in a mid-county man in his 40s.
The number of COVID-19 infections rose to 87 cases in Jefferson County at the start of this week.
Earlier, on Friday, Jefferson County officials said the number of COVID-19 cases had grown to 85, with five new cases reported through the week prior.
County health officials said 71 patients in Jefferson County have recovered from COVID-19 and are no longer hospitalized.
No deaths in Jefferson County have been linked to the coronavirus.
According to Jefferson County Public Health, a total of 10,348 patients have been tested for the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, and 10,200 have tested negative.
Test results are still pending for 61 people.
Public Health Officer
Dr. Tom Locke said the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic was coming sooner than experts expected.
Previously, the next wave of the outbreak was forecast for November or December.
“It’s starting earlier than we even predicted,” Locke told Jefferson County commissioners during their weekly COVID-19 update Monday.
The United States is seeing its highest ever daily case rate, he said.
“It is true we are doing increased testing,” Locke added.”
“And that’s very much a good thing. But it really does not account for this increase.”
Locke noted that hospitalization rates for the coronavirus have increased by 40 percent.
In his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri, Locke said that hospitals were full and are having to turn away arriving ambulances.
“We’re expecting to see that in more and more places,” Locke told county commissioners.
There is good news, however.
Locke said the death rate from COVID-19 is substantially lower than it was in March and July, due to improvements in treatment procedures for people with the coronavirus.
Another factor: More young people are getting COVID-19, and they have a lower risk of death from the disease.
