Testing encouraged as Mercer active cases drop below 300

Mar. 3—PRINCETON — Mercer County's numbers of active COVID-19 cases continued their downward trend Tuesday while a county health official urged people to keep getting tested for the virus and for more residents 65 and older to preregister for their first vaccinations.

On Feb. 28, the number of active COVID-19 cases being monitored had dropped from 297 on Feb. 28 to 289 Monday, according to the Mercer County Health Department. There were two confirmed cases and three probable cases.

Efforts to get people 65 years old and older vaccinated continue today when the first of four vaccination clinics starts at 8 a.m. in the Karen Preservati Center/Princeton Rescue Squad Training Center on Maple Street in Princeton. The clinics, which will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m each day, are by appointment only. The people scheduled for vaccinations have been contacted already, according to Roger Topping, administrator of the Mercer County Health Department.

The goal is to give 600 people their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine each day, Topping said. It's important now to get more people registered for appointments, he added. People who are scheduled for a vaccination must present their driver's license and insurance information.

"The governor pointed out (Monday) that we are one of the counties that is behind in preregistering," Topping stated.

It is important to get people, particularly those ages 65 and older, registered for the vaccine, he said. Anyone who wants to be vaccinated needs to preregister at the Everbridge website, vaccinate.wv.org or call 1-833-734-0965.

There are cases when the elderly have not registered because they don't have a computer or do not know how to use one. Topping urged residents to help older relatives and neighbors who are having problems.

"If you know elderly people who don't have computers, be a good neighbor and help them," he said. "There's a ton of elderly people out there who are scared to death of computers. If they're not registered, we can't help them get their doses."

COVID-19 testing is available today at the Mercer County Health Department from noon to 2 p.m. Health care providers across the nation have reported that fewer people are taking advantage of testing clinics.

"We're seeing the same thing," Topping said. "It's on a downward trend and I don't know why. This is not the time to quit. Our numbers should be increasing, not decreasing."

In McDowell County, the number of recent active cases has stayed around 22, according to Administrator J.J. Rose at the county health department. Last week, one new positive case was reported while another patient recovered.

"Today, we've got two new positives and two new recovered," Rose said Tuesday. McDowell County's number of active cases remained at 22.

Like other parts of the state and the country, McDowell County health providers are seeing a gradual decline in the numbers of people seeking COVID-19 testing. An average of 120 people are tested across the county daily by the health department and other health care providers, Rose said. Last Saturday, 118 people were tested, followed by only 34 the following Sunday.

"Some days it's up, some days it's down," Rose said. "I think overall it's starting to trend down, the number of tests that we've seen. Some days it will kind of spike high. On other days, it's lower."

Vaccination clinics are being held this week across West Virginia. Appointments at all clinics operating this week have been filled already.

A McDowell County vaccination clinic will be held Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the National Guard Armory in Welch.

Monroe County has seen a similar decrease in active cases. The county had 19 active cases on Feb. 28, according to the Monroe County Health Department. By Monday, the number of active cases had decreased to 10.

A vaccination clinic in Monroe County will be held Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Church of God Fellowship Center in Union.

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com