New Covid variant leads to a surge in cases

7/19/22

JACKSON, TENN (WNBJ)-

It may have been a while since you last thought about Covid but Health Professionals are urging you to continue to take precautions as new variants lead to spikes in Covid cases

“Covid 19 obviously isn't going anywhere anytime soon. This is something that we are likely going to have to live with for a while," said Mallory Cooke of the Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department.

The new BA.5 is a variant of Omicro that is more highly transmissible than other variants that we’ve seen.

The Center for Disease Control has ranked Madison County as a "high community-level" warning.

The CDC takes the number of positive tests, patients in the hospital with covid and open hospital beds into consideration when ranking every county.

Last week Madison County averaged nearly fifty positive cases reported a day. This number does not include at-home tests that are not reported.

Today (7/19) there are 42 patients hospitalized with Covid in Jackson.

Because many are seeing mild symptoms, it can be difficult to know if you have Covid or just a cold, Mallory Cooke says this is why testing is so important, “You don't have to have a fever to have covid…you may just have a mild case. You may just have a runny nose or a sore throat. Feel kind of bad for a few days. That could be covid… you don't really know unless you get a test.”

Many are traveling this summer before school starts again. Cooke has some tips for those that are hitting the roads or the sky, “Make sure you're up to date on your covid 19 vaccines before you travel…if you're in an indoor public setting to put your mask on, just be extra careful and extra cautious…get tested whenever you come back before you go back to work, before you or your kids go to school. Just make sure that you're not spreading disease if possible.”

If you are in need of your Covid-19 vaccination or are eligible for a booster the Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department is ready to help.