Health officials say there has been a sharp increase in COVID cases in Grand Forks County in the past week-and-a-half.
The department’s Michael Dulitz told Grand Forks council members last night (Monday) that the positivity rate has nearly doubled while testing remains high. Dulitz says it’s likely the result of the omicron variant. “Omicron sounds like more on the eastern side of the state than the western side…but it is reportedly gaining a foothold in tests sampled in North Dakota.”
Dulitz says on a positive note omicron appears to be somewhat less severe and there wasn’t a big jump in hospitalizations over the holidays. He says the next few week are going to be telling for what happens in the community. “Fortunately it sounds like omicron is more like a storm system rather than lasting long-term. Some experts are saying we may even see February for a reduction in overall cases and returning to a more case load.”
On the vaccination front 55.4% of the entire population…and 62.4% of the eligible population…in Grand Forks have been fully vaccinated.
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On a related note the council approved a Health Department budget amendment to the tune of $531,600 dollars. The FEMA reimbursement is for COVID-19 testing in partnership with Altru Health. Between September and the end of the year 10,632 tests were run through UND’s High Performance Center. (Pollard)
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