Health care providers stretched thin, community members hold rally to say thank you

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - Onslow County is seeing a huge spike in COVID-19 cases, with more than 1,200 new cases reported since last Monday.

Because of this, Onslow Memorial Hospital is having trouble with increased demand. So some community members got together Monday to thank health care workers for working tirelessly during the pandemic. The surprise greeting was held during the 7:00 p.m. shift change just outside the hospital.

The hospital is having trouble filing positions and with a surge in COVID cases on top of that, the strain on staff, like Medical Lab Technician Charlene Krick, is intense.

The United Way of Onslow County and Volunteer Onslow stood outside the hospital Monday night to cheer them on and encourage employees to keep up the good work.

Onslow County Health Director Kristen Richmond-Hoover said it’s important to recognize our health care workers for their hard work.

The Onslow County Health Department said there were around 175 new COVID-19 cases logged for each day last week in Onslow County. On Friday and Monday there were 264 each day.

The current case count in Onslow County is 22,484, with 20,136 cases recovered. The active COVID-19 case count is 2,348. In total, there have been 1,225 new cases reported since last Monday.

Onslow health officials said 13 additional deaths have been attributed to COVID-19 since last Monday, bringing the total number to 182. The health department says the worse is yet to come.

Onslow County health officials also say the best way to prevent contracting and spreading COVID-19 is by getting the vaccine.

Onslow County Health Department is still offering walk-in appointments for all three brands of vaccine.

The Pfizer vaccine received full FDA approval Monday and StarMed may have some additional incentives including gift cards for those willing to get their vaccination. You can visit their website for more information.

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