Olmsted County likely at peak of second Covid-19 wave

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(ABC 6 News) – Here is a look at where Olmsted County is sitting in the Covid-19 pandemic:

Public health experts said the county is well into its second wave of Covid cases. Models show the county is at the peak in cases in this new wave.

The first wave was last fall, and Olmsted County Public Health Director Graham Briggs said its hard to compare the two waves.

"It’s under half of the rate we saw during the peak in November, so we’re seeing significant activity and transmission within our community," Briggs said.

Briggs said this wave has likely been milder because most of the population has been vaccinated since last fall. He also said our hospitals are not feeling the strain now like they did before.

As for breakthrough cases, Briggs said a majority of breakthrough cases in the county result in no symptoms.

"We are seeing breakthrough cases routinely because we’ve got a lot of transmissions out there. But it’s clear that the unvaccinated cases are what’s really driving transmission, and then we’re seeing spillover into breakthrough cases," Briggs said.

Right now, 80 to 90 percent of hospitalizations for Covid in the county are unvaccinated people. On any given day, Olmsted County is averaging 15 to 20 people in the hospital for Covid-19.