Hannah Styles
hstyles@thesmokymountaintimes.com
As I type this article on my laptop from my quarantine oasis, my home, it isn’t news to me that Covid is upon us again. I tested positive last week and have been homebound ever since. At first, I found it ironic that I made it through the pandemic two years without getting the terrible symptoms from the virus, and in the summer of 2022, when Covid was thought to be almost out, I got it. The truth is I have been very blessed up until this point, to have avoided the virus this long, but now as I see a rise in cases in Swain and surrounding counties, I realize I’m far from the only one testing positive.
According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services data, Swain County has seen a total of 72 cases in the last two weeks and 188 from June 11- July 9.
Our close neighbor, Graham County has seen even more, with 78 cases in the past two weeks, with a much smaller population. Jackson County has seen 122 total cases in the past couple weeks.
Swain County remains in medium transmission by NCDHHS for community levels and thankfully hasn’t yet ventured into the high area, as we remained in earlier this year. The newest variant of Omicron BA.5, which is thought to be what is hitting our area, is a lot more contagious than previous variants, according to the CDC, but has milder symptoms and doesn’t last as long.
From my experience, the third and fourth days are the worst, where I had extreme congestion, cough, runny, itchy nose and eyes, dizziness, severe fatigue, body aches and low-grade fever. During those couple days, you wouldn’t find me barely lifting my head off the pillow, but I forced myself to get up and walk at least around my house every few hours, while drinking plenty of water. The sixth and seventh days were when I started to feel on the mend.
The current protocol for those testing positive for coronavirus is 5 days of quarantine, after a positive test, and then wearing a mask for 5 days after that.
The CDC continues to advise the use of masks indoors in public areas and to stay up to date on your vaccinations. According to the CDC, Covid-19 vaccines are the best way to prevent you from getting sick and are highly effective at preventing you from getting sick. Contact the Swain County Health Department at (828) 488-3189 to find out more information about Covid-19 transmission or vaccinations.