LUSBY, Md. – In the past 2 weeks, 40% of all COVID cases in Calvert have occurred in 15-19 year olds. This narrow age range has accounted for almost up to half of all Calvert cases! As noted in our previous post, a Graduation / “COVID-19” party at Drum Point at 7/25 served as a boiler for many of these infections. Currently, the health department of 15 attendees of that party knows who is testing positive. In addition, it is known that 3 parents, 1 grandparent, 1 sibling and 4 employees became ill as a result of secondary infections. At least 2 adults are hospitalized, one of whom is in the ICU.
It is likely that other 15-19-year-olds who have tested positive since the end of July attended the same party as other similar parties. Nearly a dozen teens with positive testing at the end of July and beginning of August did not answer a call from COVID contact tracers. In these cases, we only have the teenagers’ cell numbers – no home phone numbers – so there is no way for us to confirm if they were present. It is also a certainty that others on the party were infected but did not test and / or remained asymptomatic. In either case, these people could have family members or other close contacts. As a result, the total number of Calvert infections that were spawned as a result of transmission at this festival will never be fully known.
This should be a wake-up call for everyone. Every day we all play a game of chess. Every move we make today has consequences on the board. The COVID risks to which we are exposed, whether it is at parties or in an environment with a large number of people, also leave those in our daily lives weeks behind at potential risk.
Finally, health care providers need to educate adults, especially those with underlying health conditions, that they should be mindful of potential transmission from their children / grandchildren. They should include, “Do you have a 15-19 year old in your household?” to their clinical screening questions until we see numbers increase.
Related article: Calvert County is seeking resurgence in COVID-19 cases among teens and young adults
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