June 30, 2021 2:00 p.m. 

6 more people have received new positive test results for COVID-19 in Douglas County, as of Wednesday.

An update from the Douglas County COVID-19 Response Team said the total number of cases is now at 3,972. Of those, 3,784 are people that have received positive test results and 188 are presumptive. There have been 84 deaths. 14 Douglas COVID-19 patients are hospitalized. 11 locally and 3 outside the area. 98 people are in isolation. 157 people are in quarantine. That means the staff with the Douglas Public Health Network are supporting 255 people that are either in isolation or quarantine.

The update said while the number of local COVID-19 cases have seen a slight decrease in the past two weeks, the number of residents that have been hospitalized due to complications with COVID-19 continues to be on the higher side. The update said the average age of those patients has seen a dramatic shift.

County Public Health Officer Dr. Bob Dannenhoffer said that early in the pandemic, older people were more likely to have more severe COVID-19 disease, and were more likely to be hospitalized. He said that held true through the end of 2020. Dannenhoffer said, “Beginning after the first of the year, the average age of those hospitalized with COVID began to drop significantly and we are now seeing many people in their 20’s and 30’s hospitalized”. He said last week nearly 40 percent of the hospitalizations were under age 30. Dannenhoffer said that is “…a remarkable shift from the same time last year when the average age of those hospitalizations were people in their 80s”. He said most of the young hospitalized COVID patients are not vaccinated, while vaccine uptake has been higher in older generations.

Go to www.douglaspublichealthnetwork.org for more local information about COVID-19.