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Yadkin County government leaders received a detailed report of COVID-19 cases and other communicable disease data for the year 2020 at the county’s regular board of commissioners meeting Monday morning.
Since the pandemic began, Yadkin County has marked 4,118 positive coronavirus cases and 54 deaths, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. The 2019 U.S. Census estimates the population of Yadkin County to be 37, 667, which would indicate approximately 1 in 10 Yadkin County residents have been infected with the virus.
Statewide, there have been more than 1 million cases and more than 13,000 deaths.
In 2020 alone, the county received reports of 2,440 cases of coronavirus, according to the report presented to Yadkin County Commissioners at their regular meeting Monday. The report was part of an annual accounting of communicable diseases.
Jessica Wall of the Yadkin County Human Services Agency presented the data, and pointed out Express Care of Yadkin as a key player in the county’s coronavirus efforts. The clinic reported 223 of the county’s COVID-19 cases in 2020.
“Express Care of Yadkin deserves a kudos,” she said. “They’ve done a lot of COVID testing and they’ve been an integral part of our COVID response.”
Commissioners asked Wall whether anyone in the county has contracted coronavirus after receiving a vaccine. Wall said that four to six people contracted the virus who reported also being vaccinated, but little data was collected to ascertain, for example, whether the patient had contracted the virus prior to vaccination or whether the patient had been fully vaccinated.
Among other findings in the annual county communicable diseases report:
-103 cases of the sexually-transmitted disease chlamydia were reported, 25% of which were among those ages 13-19. Wall said the report of a 13-year-old with the disease was concerning. Among the 103 cases, 15 were pregnant, of whom four were teenagers. Untreated chlamydia can cause dangerous pregnancy complications. The disease is treated with antibiotics and among the potential outcomes in women if left untreated is infertility.
-39 cases of Hepatitis C were reported, with patients ranging from age 19 to 78. Hepatitis is treatable; however, if left unaddressed, it can lead to serious liver damage. Wall said many Hepatitis C cases are linked to substance abuse and intravenous drug use, and she was very concerned to see a case among a 19-year-old.
In other business at their Monday meeting, commissioners approved the 2021-22 roster of capital improvement projects. Among them are a plan to spend $600,000 to replace the emergency services outpost in either Jonesville or Hamptonville and to spend $200,000 lighting the athletic fields at the Yadkin County Park.
Lisa Michals may be reached at 336-448-4968 or follow her on Twitter @lisamichals3.
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