EL PASO COUNTY — The trend with COVID-19 cases in shifting. There are many places where numbers are showing an increase after months of decline. The new Delta variant of the virus accounts for a large number of the cases.
Health Leaders in El Paso County are watching the shift. There is reason to pay attention.
"If we don't prevent that transmission from happening then we see an increase in cases and more cases perpetuate more cases and then we find ourselves, you know back where we were six months ago," said El County Public Health, Communicable Disease, Manager, Haley Zachary.
After several weeks with a seven-day average of around 50, the daily average is back above 75 for the first time in a month. El Paso County has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the state and is seeing a higher infection rate.
"Historically you've seen instances where it starts to climb and then boom you see an exponential sort of an explosion," said El Paso County Public Health Epidemiologist, Fadi Youkhana. Spikes have happened several times over the course of the pandemic.
There is now an added defense creating a buffer against the rapid increase.
"The one thing that we do have working for us right now is a large portion of our population has been vaccinated," said Youkhana. Immunization can prevent the virus from gaining momentum.
