COVID update

According to Barton County Health Department Administrator Joel Dermott, new cases of COVID continue to abound. Dermott explained that the City of Lamar has recently been enrolled into the State's expanded sewershed study for COVID-19. Recent sampling has already paid dividends as the 100 percent Delta variant present in the sample taken just prior to Christmas, changed to an almost even split between Delta and Omicron just days later.

Dermott said, “As we await our latest results, we are likely majority Omicron variant in the county. This explains in part the explosion of cases these past couple of weeks. This sewershed study is one of the best tools available to track COVID on a widescale basis and is extremely cost effective. A big thank you to the City of Lamar for making this happen.”

Testing remains an issue as the tests themselves are in short supply, added Dermott who stated, “Home tests are becoming harder to find and clinics are overrun with demand. Work is being done to bring additional testing to the community.”

If anyone is in need of a primary vaccination or booster shot, several vaccination sites are available locally. The easiest way to find what you are looking for is to visit www.vacine.gov. This website allows the user to search locally for vaccine availability.

The total number of COVID cases in Barton County as of now stands at 1784; with 36 active cases, 34 confirmed deaths, eight proable deaths, 1706 recovered and 46 new cases reported in the past seven days.

If anyone has questions they can contact the health department at 417-682-3363 for assistance.