COVID-19 cases reach all time highs in Gulf County
Cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in Gulf County at a rate quickly outpacing that of the last surge.
According to data released by the CDC, there were 271 active cases in Gulf County on Friday, Jan. 14, the highest number the county has seen at one time since the start of the pandemic and an increase of more than 80 percent from the week before.
Statewide, there were more than 430,000 new covid cases this week.
This surge in cases is widely attributed to the omicron variant of the disease, which is considered to be much more contagious than past mutations. But omicron has, so far, also shown to be less severe than other variants of the virus. Ascension Sacred Heart reported in a release Friday that while they have seen more cases of COVID in the community, the symptoms experienced by their patients are, on average, more mild than in past surges.
However, the heath care network was clear that this does not eliminate the risk of serious infection, and some patients with COVID-19 continue to be admitted into the region’s hospitals.
Ascension and the CDC maintain that vaccinated individuals are more likely to experience mild or no symptoms than unvaccinated individuals.
A little over half of Gulf County’s total population has been fully vaccinated.
The CDC has released some more relaxed guidelines for isolation following a positive test result, shortening the isolation period to five days and 24 hours without fever in most instances.
Those who experience severe infections should isolate for ten days and consult with a medical professional before leaving isolation.
To find a list of testing locations in Gulf County, please visit https://gulf.floridahealth.gov/events/2022/01/testing-locations.html.
Meet the Editor
Wendy Weitzel, The Star’s digital editor, joined the news outlet in August 2021, as a reporter covering primarily Gulf County.
Prior to then, she interned for Oklahoma-based news wire service Gaylord News and for Oklahoma City-based online newspaper NonDoc.com during her four years at the University of Oklahoma, from which she graduated in May with degrees in online journalism and political science.
While at OU, Weitzel was selected as Carnegie-Knight News21 Investigative Fellow among 30 top journalism students from around the country. She also was senior editor managing a 12-person newsroom in coordination with Oklahoma Watch, a non-profit news organization in eastern Oklahoma.