Covid positives spike in January

DAYTON–January saw a surge of COVID-19 positive cases in Columbia County, according to the Columbia County Public Health Department's Facebook posts, reaching a peak in the last week of the month at 55 active cases.

There were eight cases on January 3, rising in leaps until reaching 55 on January 14. Counts in December, 2021, hovered in the low teens the entire month, and November, 2021, Public Health reported counts under five at intervals throughout the month.

Co-Interim Director Delphine Bailey cautioned that Public Health's numbers are not entirely accurate due to individuals testing at home. A request from Public Health to the Department of Health to be able to add home-test numbers was denied.

"Though our numbers are going down," Bailey said, "it does not necessarily mean community numbers are going down."

As of press deadline, there were 24 active case, according to the Columbia County Public Health Department's Facebook post released February 1, and there are zero pending tests.

Beginning February 7, Public Health will be posting COVID-19 updates weekly. "We understand that our community relies on us to give them the most accurate, up-to-date information," the Facebook release noted. "With the increase of at home testing, we feel as though a percent of individuals who are testing positive aren't being accurately represented on our daily updates.

"Please understand that we want to be as transparent to our community as possible, and hope that you all can be understanding with this change. We will post weekly updates on Monday with the most current information we have.

"If you test positive at home, please follow all state recommended isolation and quarantine guidelines."