Methodist Bishop recommends wearing masks
The Delta Variant of the Coronavirus continues to surge globally, as well as locally. The rise in the number of Coronavirus cases impacted churches in the community. The Kentucky Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church recommended to its churches to restart universal masking starting on August 1. It recommended everyone, even the vaccinated, to wear a mask during worship service, church meetings and children and youth activities.
Baptist churches are autonomous, and each church issues rules tailored to each individual church. At Lewisport Baptist Church, several members of the congregation contracted COVID, Church Secretary Ragan Powers said. Several of the infected were vaccinated against COVID.
Powers said the church decided to issue a statement to church members urging them to wear masks, but not mandating members to do so. The church also decided to make masks available to members wanting to wear one. Otherwise, each member makes the decision whether to mask or not.
On Tuesday of this week, the Green River District Health Department reported 355 new cases in the Green River Region, with 13 of those cases happening in Hancock County. ”We are seeing an alarming rise in our incidence of new Covid-19 cases,” Green River Public Health Director, Clay Horton, said in a press release. “The best way to protect yourself and those you love, is to get vaccinated against Covid-19.”
The question arises concerning vaccinated people contracting COVID. How can a person that was vaccinated contract the virus? Health experts say no vaccine is 100-percent effective at stopping a virus.
The vaccines against COVID have a 90-percent efficacy rate, according to a UC Davis Health website. Meaning, out of 100 people vaccinated against the virus, 10 of those people can contract the virus. ”When a vaccinated person tests positive for COVID-19, most either have no symptoms or have very mild symptoms,” the UC Davis website said. “It rarely results in hospitalization or death. Their symptoms are more like those of a common cold.”
Though the Delta Variant continues to infect hundreds of people each day, the vast majority of people contracting the virus are unvaccinated. According to the UC Davis website, 97-percent of the people being hospitalized at the UC Davis Medical Center are people that are not vaccinated.
Health experts say it is extremely important for people to get vaccinated because the Delta Variant of COVID-19 is highly contagious. According to Yale Medicine, the Delta strain of the virus is approximately 50-percent more contagious than the original COVID-19 Virus.
Yale Medicine said a person with the original virus strain infected 2.5 people. The rate for the Delta Variant is 3.5 to four people. What do people need to do to protect against the Delta strain? ”If you are not vaccinated against COVID-19, get vaccinated immediately,” GRHD Health Director Horton said.
In Hancock County, two locations exist for a person to receive a vaccination: The Hancock County Health Department in Hawesville, and Poole’s Pharmacy in Lewisport. Call 270-927-8803 to schedule an appointment at the health department, or 270-295-3131 to schedule an appointment at Poole’s Pharmacy.
By Ralph Dickerson
