Rowan county’s COVID levels have bounced between high and medium over the last few months, and currently levels have again dropped to medium.

While overall numbers have declined slightly, as many children begin their third week of school, the county has seen a slight uptick in the number of children between the ages of 5 and 17 testing positive for COVID-19. Since school began on Aug. 10, the number of cases for this age group have almost doubled in the county.

Officials with Rowan County Public Health encourages parents to help slow down the transmission of COVID-19 by making sure children get vaccinated and/or boosted as soon as they become eligible. Also, it is important that parents discuss with children the importance of sanitizing and or washing their hands often. Most importantly, if a child has been in contact with someone who is positive for COVID or if they themselves start to feel sick, please test them. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) also lists the following as considerations for the level of risk if someone is exposed to a person who has COVID:

• How long were you exposed to the infected person? (longer than 15 minutes increases the risk)

• Was the infected person coughing, singing, shouting or breathing heavily?

• Did the infected person have symptoms at the time of exposure?

• Were you and the infected person both wearing high-quality masks? (if only one person wore a mask the risk increases, and if neither wore a mask, the risk is highest)

• How well-ventilated was the space? (outdoors is typically the lowest risk)

• How close were you to the infected person? (the greater the distance the lower the risk)

As of last week, fewer than half of the state’s counties are considered to be at high risk for COVID-19 transmission. In Rowan, where the risk level is now medium, there are 377 known cases and 11 new, confirmed hospital admissions among county residents. The county’s positivity rate continues to decline in agency testing and is currently 23%.

With transmission levels continuing to decline at both the state and local levels, public health officials continue to urge residents to do the following things to help stop the spread of COVID-19:

• Stay up to date on vaccinations, including recommended booster doses.
• Wear a high-quality mask when going out in public.
• Avoid contact with people who have suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
• Maintain ventilation improvements.
• Follow the recommendations for isolation, if you have suspected or a confirmed case of COVID-19.
• Follow the recommendations for what to do if you are exposed to someone with COVID-19.
• If you are at a high risk of getting very sick, talk with your healthcare provider about additional prevention actions. They may suggest that you wear a high-quality mask or respirator, such as a N95 mask, when indoors and out in public.
• If you have household or social contact with someone at high risk for getting very sick, consider self-testing to detect infection before contact, and consider wearing a high-quality mask when inside with them. For more information on how to receive free tests, go to NC DHHS or the USPS.
• Seek out a prescription for antiviral pills, such as Paxlovid and Molnupiravir, within the first five days that your symptoms appear. For more information on treatment, go to the NCDHHS website.

Vaccinations and boosters against COVID-19 are still available at Rowan County Public Health and are available for all ages. To make an appointment to receive a Moderna, Pfizer, J&J, or the new Novavax vaccine, call 704-216-8777 and choose option 3 to make an appointment.