In late July of 2020, Powder River County received its first positive COVID-19 test. Over the course of the next year, 161 Powder River County residents would test positive for the virus, with a strong likelihood that others exhibited mild symptoms and were not treated and these numbers underreport the true COVID numbers in the county, according to Powder River County Health Nurse Darlynn Williams. Just going by the positive cases, roughly 10% of the population has come down with the virus over the last year, and eight Powder River County residents have suffered COVID related deaths.
Here's a breakdown of the numbers by month, age, and sex.
COVID positives remained low in July and August of last year, with one positive a piece. In September, case numbers expanded, with 18 total, and peaking in October with 44 cases. In November, 25 residents tested positive, and 14 in December.
In early 2021, the vaccine rollout commenced, and case numbers dropped, with 5 in January, 1 in February, 7 in March, 2 in April, and 6 in May.
A recent outbreak this summer resulted in 17 cases in June, and 20 cases thus far in July.
In the 0-9 age group, 8 have tested positive. 12 cases have been in the 10-19 group, 23 in the 20-29 age group, 15 in the 30-39 group, 14 in the 40-49 group, 26 of those aged 50-59, 25 of those aged 60-69, 16 of those age 70-79, 8 of those aged 80-89, and 14 of those aged 90+.
Of those aged 90+, five of those positive cases led to death, or 36% of those contracting the virus died, while 25% of those aged 80-89 with the illness perished, and one case in a 70-79 year old resident. The deaths resulted from outbreaks at Powder River Manor; one last fall, and another recent outbreak, though the two most recent deaths are under review. Visitation at the Manor is currently limited due to the recent outbreak, though as of Monday the Manor was COVID free, per their Facebook page.
When broken down by sex, 90 females and 69 males (the sex of two cases had not yet been confirmed as of this writing) tested positive for the virus. Williams tells us that these percentages in the ratio of female to male are likely off from the true values of those who have contracted the virus across the community, as females are more likely to seek care than males.
COVID related symptoms sent a number of Powder River County folks to the hospital. Notably, these hospitalizations were mostly in younger age groups than those who died. 14 hospitalizations occurred over the last year.
Even for those who have recovered, life is not always back to normal. Long-COVID, or symptoms persisting for extended periods of time, have pestered several.
Samples from the latest county outbreak have been sent off for variant testing, to determine if the highly contagious Delta variant, originally discovered in India, is running wild in Powder River County. Williams told us these variant tests take longer than the standard tests, and as of this writing the variant tests had not been completed.
Powder River County currently holds the dubious distinction of having one of the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates in Montana, with 24% of residents fully vaccinated. Only Garfield County trails PR County, with a 23% vaccination rate. Neighboring county vaccination rates include Big Horn County with 46%, Rosebud with 48%, Custer with 35%, Carter with 27%, Campbell County, Wyoming, with 18%, and Sheridan County, Wyoming, with 35%.
Statewide, 437,707 Montanans were fully vaccinated as of Monday, or 48% of the eligible population, with 48.6% of the US population, or over 161 million Americans fully vaccinated. 79.5% of those age 65 and older are vaccinated. Worldwide, 3,690,000,000 doses of vaccine have been given, that is, 3.69 billion doses, or 11 times the entire US population, with around 20 to 30 million doses administered each day around the globe.
Reader Comments(0)