By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
Salina Post
Saline County's mask mandate will remain in place for at least another two weeks. That's the word from today's Saline County Commission meeting.
During the meeting, Jason Tiller, Saline Counth Health Department Director, told the commissioners that the county's COVID-19 data is trending in the right direction.
"If you'll remember at one point a couple of months ago, we were averaging 128 cases in a couple of days maybe if not more, and we have slowed down considerably to where we've only had 128 new ones in the last two weeks," Tiller said.
A slide shown during Tiller's presentation showed that the number of COVID-19 cases per month was the highest in December at 1925. January declined to 1,083, and February ended with 405.
Tiller said that although the new cases number is declining, the health department is still seeing new cases in the county daily.
Additionally, the number of deaths per month attributed to COVID-19 also peaked in December at 47, Tiller indicated. Twenty-four people died from COVID-19 in January and five in February.
Tiller said that by the end of the week more than 8,500 people who live and work in Saline County should be vaccinated.
"Also by the end of the week, we should have about half of the over 65 that are registered and probably most, if not all of the first responders, K through 12, and city and county vaccinated, which will allow us to start vaccinating the rest of those who are Phase Two eligible next week," he said.
Tiller reported that Saline County should soon be receiving a shipment of the recently approved, one-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
"We were notified late yesterday that we'll be receiving 500 doses of that this week," he said.
Tiller told commissioners that his recommendation is to continue the county's mask mandate for now.
"It would be in a much better position if we get to a spot where we start having chunks of time without daily cases, and I think that's still going to be a little while," Tiller said.
Additionally, Tiller told commissioners about a YouTube video that was made to give those who have not yet been vaccinated an idea of what the vaccination location is like in the old JC Penney store at the south end of the Central Mall. Video was shot with a Salina Police Department drone and put together by Salina Media Connection. Guiding the tour is Hayley Samford, marketing and community outreach coordinator for Salina Family Healthcare Center.
Watch it here: