 You need a financial advisor with the freedom to focus on your specific needs. Whatever your goals, Reid Potter can create a game plan tailored to you. Call Reid at 432-0777 at Pikeville, Kentucky to learn more. As the Omicron variant of COVID-19 continues to spread across Pike County, case numbers continue to climb and what Pike County Health Director Tammy Riley says is the single largest day increase. Our numbers have definitely escalated. I've been watching them for several weeks expecting a surge. We saw a small bump after Thanksgiving and an additional one after Christmas, but we're definitely in an uptick of new cases. Yesterday we hit an all new high with 154 cases in one day. So that's an incredible number for a county with their population and size. So that's quite concerning. Yesterday we had 12,887 cases, today we have 13,041 cases. So we're definitely starting to see that exponential growth that we saw early on in Delta. Even while the Omicron variant may be considered less aggressive than its predecessor Delta, Riley adds that Omicron's infectivity is higher and still taking lives. So when I looked at mortality, we had 189 deceased for Pike County early in early November. So prior to the winter holidays, we saw some bumps, some additional new cases reported, and we've gone from 189 to 229. So we've seen an increase of 40 deaths in just around eight weeks. So that's approximately five cases a week. As COVID-19 cases stand, Pike County's positivity rate has increased to 21.25%, meaning one out of every five people tested is positive for the virus. Additionally, while the priority is to keep people out of the hospital, Riley says current case numbers are concerning. Oh, absolutely. When you see a surge of 154 cases in one day, even if disease severity is less, just having the impact of that many numbers of infected new individuals, you're going to see a certain percentage become very sick. So the more numbers that you get in new cases, when that new case number elevates, even with disease severity slightly less, it still is a threat for healthcare systems, which means, you know, potentially overwhelmed ICU occupancy, ventilator occupancy, overwhelmed staffing capacity. Lastly, Riley adds those who are positive for the virus, albeit tested professionally or at home, to follow recommended quarantine guidance. You know, my number one advice would be get vaccinated. There's ample vaccination available and it's free. When you compare the cost of vaccination, which is free, to the cost of missed days at work, worst case scenario, hospital stays and medical expenses, it's really in everyone's best interest to seek vaccination. But it's also not too late to get boosted. You know, all of us have the potential of waning antibodies. The CDC recommends, you know, at the five month mark to seek vaccination to get boosted after five months for the mRNA vaccines and in two months after Johnson & Johnson. So it's not too late to protect yourself by either getting boosted or to seek that primary dose series initially. If you have questions regarding the Omicron variant or if you would like to get vaccinated, you can call the Pike County Health Department at 606-437-5500. For Mountain Top News, I'm Joel Kordjall.