Dr. Aaron Billin

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has raised community transmission levels of COVID-19 in Park County to “high” just in time for the 2022 Park County Fair.

Obviously by the very few wearing masks at Tuesday night’s big opening of the midway, few got the message. One reason for the lack of concern by many in the community are low numbers of hospitalizations and recent mild symptoms of the virus’ current variant, according to Dr. Aaron Billin, Park County public health officer.

“When new viruses come, they come with a vengeance, but then they weaken a bit and become part of background illnesses,” he said in a Wednesday interview.

It’s part of the new normal as the pandemic transitions into an endemic, which means the disease is still around but it’s at a level that’s not causing significant disruption in our daily lives.

The CDC’s rating comes with a suggestion that residents be cautious in interactions with the public, including folks wear a mask indoors in public places.

“COVID is a part of life and it will become a perennial illness during the cold and flu season. It’s just going to be here,” Billin said, adding “The nice thing is we’re not seeing the number of people being hospitalized and dying that we were seeing before.”

There are currently 20 known cases in Park County, but that doesn’t include “dozens” of cases discovered through home tests which go unreported to health officials due to mild symptoms. Billin said he hopes area residents will heed the high rating and take increased precautions.

“It’s a balance between being careful and carrying on with life,” he said. “I think it’s inevitable, we’ll see small increases in cases because everyone has been together for the fair. But we’ve just got to do the best we can, be wise and careful to take the proper precautions.”

One thing doctors and scientists know for sure about SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is that it’s changing constantly. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve seen a number of prominent variants, including Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron. The World Health Organization names new coronavirus variants using the letters of the Greek alphabet, starting with the Alpha variant.

“Although new variants are an expected part of the evolution of viruses, monitoring each one that surfaces is essential in ensuring we — in the U.S. and globally — are prepared,” reported Kathy Katella, senior clinical writer for Yale [University] Medicine in a recent article for the American Medical Association. “This is especially true if a new variant is more aggressive, highly transmissible, vaccine-resistant, able to cause more severe disease — or all of the above, compared with the original strain of the virus.”

In the same way the CDC responded to the pandemic, they are now cautioning U.S. residents about monkeypox, a rare disease caused by a virus. Monkeypox is in the same family of viruses as variola virus, which causes smallpox. 

Monkeypox symptoms are similar to smallpox symptoms, but more mild and rarely fatal. The U.S. has one of the highest levels of monkeypox in the world with 3,590 known monkeypox cases, the agency said Tuesday.

The virus can spread from person to person through direct contact with the infectious rash, scabs, or body fluids, respiratory secretions during prolonged, face-to-face contact, or during intimate physical contact, such as kissing, cuddling, or sex, touching items (such as clothing or linens) that previously touched the infectious rash or body fluids and those who are pregnant can spread the virus to their fetus through the placenta. It’s also possible for people to get monkeypox from infected animals, either by being scratched or bitten by the animal or by preparing or eating meat or using products from an infected animal.

People who do not have monkeypox symptoms cannot spread the virus to others, according to the CDC, and, at this time, it is not known if monkeypox can spread through semen or vaginal fluids. The agency recommends a vaccination for people who have been exposed to monkeypox and people who are at higher risk of being exposed to monkeypox and is urging healthcare providers to be alert for patients who have rash illnesses consistent with the virus.