HANCOCK COUNTY — After masks made up so much of daily life over the past two years, health and school leaders have welcomed the relaxed COVID-19 guidance as living amid the virus enters a new phase.
And while the novel coronavirus has been wreaking far less havoc lately, a hospital official says it’s important to remain vigilant and understand that the disease will likely persist to exist in some form or another into the future.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlined the new set of measures late last month for communities where COVID-19 is easing its grip, with less of a focus on positive test results and more on what’s happening at hospitals.
The new system greatly changes the look of the CDC’s risk map and puts most of the U.S. population in counties where the coronavirus is posing a low or medium threat to hospitals. Those are the people who can stop wearing masks, the agency said.
Hancock County’s community level was low as of Monday.
Craig Felty, vice president of patient care and chief nursing officer at Hancock Regional Hospital, agrees with the latest guidance.
“It’s based more off of the severity of the illness than just the illness itself,” Felty said.
He noted that many infected with COVID-19’s omicron variant and some with the disease’s delta variant had no symptoms.
“Though they’re contagious, they don’t necessarily pose a risk to the health care system in the area, whereas those who have risk factors, who get sick, put a definite strain on the health care system in the area,” Felty said.
Hancock Regional Hospital was treating one COVID-19 patient as of Monday morning, Felty said. The number of COVID-19 cases the county has been adding each day continue to be in the single digits.
Despite the pandemic’s pattern recently of lulls in daily case counts leading up to massive surges, Felty doesn’t think the latest easing of guidelines is premature.
“I think we’re seeing a relaxation in the numbers. I don’t think we’re seeing a relaxation in hospitals’ potential and ability to flex back up if needed,” he said. “We’re always going to maintain this readiness. There’s nothing to say that there won’t be another variant down the road. We don’t see that right now.”
Dr. Gary Sharp, Hancock County health officer, agrees.
“Looking around the world, the incidents seem to be going down,” Sharp said. “We tend to follow Europe and South Africa. If that holds its own, I think things are looking fairly smooth for a while.”
The CDC is still advising people, including schoolchildren, to wear masks where the risk of COVID-19 is high.
But with protection from immunity rising — both from vaccination and infection — the overall risk of severe disease is now generally lower, the agency said.
The new recommendations do not change the requirement to wear masks on public transportation and indoors in airports, train stations and bus stations. However, the CDC no longer requires wearing of masks on buses or vans operated by public or private school systems, including early care and education/child care programs.
While the new guidance creates a long-awaited reprieve in many instances, Felty said it’s important to maintain caution toward the virus. He encourages people to continue to keep safe distances from one another and wear masks if around others at risk of serious illness from COVID-19.
“Our recommendation is it doesn’t hurt to keep your mask on,” Felty said.
He suspects the coverings will continue to remain a tool for thwarting the spread of the virus in the future.
“I don’t think masks are ever going to go away,” he said.
They continue to be required at the hospital.
“It shows you that obviously it’s still here, and we still need to do whatever we can do to prevent it from spreading,” Felty said of the disease. “We’re still maintaining our guard. It’s just such an unpredictable pandemic. We are definitely smarter, and we’re definitely more informed, and I think we’re better prepared to flex back up again if the need arises.”
The CDC’s latest change regarding masks on school buses prompted all of Hancock County’s public school corporations to cease the former requirement.
It follows schools dropping mask mandates in buildings and the state’s updated guidance last month no longer recommending contact tracing and quarantining in schools.
Wes Anderson, director of school and community relations for the Community School Corporation of Southern Hancock County, said the new recommendation for buses is another welcomed change.
“It’s nice to start to get back to that sense of normalcy a little bit,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
