Delaware County is still labeled an “extremely high risk” for unvaccinated people to contract COVID, despite a  67% decrease in the number of new COVID-19 cases reported compared to two weeks ago, reports The New York Times.  

January remains the month with the highest average cases in Delaware County, The New York Times reported.

Last week, there was an average of 450 new daily cases reported in the county. Since the start of the pandemic, at least 1 in 5 residents have been infected by COVID-19, totaling 104,675 reported cases.

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has increased over the last two weeks by 29 percent. Deaths have also increased, with 81 new fatalities over the same period.

As of January 27, the number of fully vaccinated people in the county is at 71 percent.

This news comes as the county’s new health director, Melissa Lyons, begins her first week on the job.

Her first public appearance was at the Keystone First Wellness Center in Chester, which opened in March 2020,, closed because of COVID, then reopened in March 2021 as COVID testing and vaccine location, writes Kathleen E. Carey for the Daily Times.

As she tours the county, Lyons is hearing a lot of enthusiasm for the new health department and what it will ultimately be able to offer, but she cautions that some fundamental things have to happen first.

 “I’m going to under promise and over deliver for the community,” she said.

Delaware County, like other places in America, is dealing with health equity issues in communities that are under-resourced.  A priority for the new department will be tracking where diseases, both chronic and infectious, are prevalent.

Rosemary Halt, COVID Task Force Director for Delaware County and chair of the Board of Health,  said vaccine hesitancy has been a challenge, but that more people are getting vaccinated with the omicron surge.

Halt said hospitalizations from COVID-19 are still high but visits to the Emergency Room for testing have fallen, thanks to the opening of a number of test facilities in the county.

She said officials anticipate lower positive COVID numbers in the coming month.

Read more at the Daily Times about Delaware County Health Director Melissa Lyon’s first week on the job.

The League of Women Voters of Central Delaware County hosted a Jan. 14, 2022 forum on the new health department.