14 active COVID cases; five new in Humboldt County

As public health officials have warned, people should not be letting their guard down regarding the COVID-19 virus just yet.
Humboldt County Public Health reported five new additional COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, July 6. That brings the total positive cases in the county since the virus’ inception to 1,214.
Of the five new cases, three were people in the 18-40 age range and two were adults ages 41-60. The Humboldt County Department of Public Health reports 14 current active cases in the county.
A total of 1,174 people have recovered from the virus in the county and 26 people have died.
Scientists are concerned that the delta variant of the novel coronavirus is the most contagious strain, spreading about 225 percent faster than the original COVID-19 version.
A study released this week by researchers at the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control found that people with the delta variant had on average about 1,000 times more copies of the respiratory virus than people infected with the original strain. That’s why people are getting sicker faster with the new strain.
The Director of the Centers for Disease Control on Thursday said that preliminary data is showing that 99.5 percent of COVID-19 deaths in several states in recent months were unvaccinated patients.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, in a press briefing at the White House said, “ We know that the delta variant is surging in pockets of the country with low vaccination rates. We also know that our authorized vaccines prevent severe disease, hospitalization and death from the delta variant.”
Humboldt’s positivity rate in the last seven days is 4 percent after hovering around 0 through most of June.
According to the coronavirus.iowa.gov website, the largest spike in the recent coronavirus cases is young people ages 18-29, with 31 percent of all new cases, the same as adults 30-39 and 40-49 combined.
COVID-19 vaccines are available for people ages 12 and older free of charge at Hy-Vee Pharmacy, 611 10th Ave. N. in Humboldt for the Pfizer vaccine (two doses, 21 days apart). Walk Ins Welcome OR click here to make an appointment: https://www.hy-vee.com/my-pharmacy/pharmacy-finder/humboldt-611-10th-ave...
Larry’s Pharmacy in Humboldt, 1310 10th Ave. N., has the one dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine for those 18 and older. Walk-ins are welcome.
People can get tested for COVID-19 through their family physician. There is one Test Iowa Clinic in the area operating, at Iowa Specialty Hospital in Belmond, 403 1st St. Southeast. It is open Tuesday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. People are asked to call (844) 474-4321 and ask for the triage line for an appointment.