JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — Preliminary wastewater testing has confirmed the presence of the B.1.1.7 variant, which is likely driving this region’s current surge of COVID-19 cases, Ballad Health officials said Wednesday.
Ballad contracted with Biobot Analytics, a Massachusetts-based firm, to test area wastewater for the B.1.1.7 variant, also known as the UK variant of COVID-19, Chief Physician Executive Dr. Clay Runnels said during a news briefing.
“Our preliminary results show a significant amount of COVID-19 in wastewater, suggesting significant spread of the virus in the region,” Runnels said. “Additionally, they did detect the UK B.1.1.7 variant in the wastewater. We currently feel the numbers we’re seeing right now suggest that B.1.1.7 is driving the surge in the region. This is not too surprising as this is becoming the dominant strain in many areas of the United States.”
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Ballad treated 137 COVID-positive inpatients Wednesday, including 29 in intensive care units and 20 of them on ventilators — the most since late January. An additional 100 are being treated at home.
The number of cases has been rising for the past six weeks, rising by about 8% per week for the past three weeks, Runnels said, with more than 1,550 new cases diagnosed last week across Ballad’s 21-county service area.
The current strain is impacting younger people and the average age of patients dying from COVID is now 66, compared to 74 at the pandemic’s winter peak.
“We’re trying to share what we can confidently say at this point. We can say wastewater supports the spread in the region is significant, and the UK B.11.7 variant is present and likely driving that,” he said. “The B.1.1.7 strain is more virulent and spreads more easily. However, the B.1.1.7 strain is well covered by our vaccines.”
About half of recent cases are being blamed on the variant, Runnels said.
Asked by a reporter, Ballad officials said they can’t yet specify which wastewater systems were tested and where the variant was detected.
“We are in the process of getting results back. We don’t have full results back but, hopefully, next week we can provide a full assessment of exactly where we are,” said Dr. David Reagan, a special advisor to Ballad and the former chief medical officer of the Tennessee Department of Health.
Wastewater testing has proven to be a reliable indicator of the disease and the Biobot firm has performed similar testing all over the U.S.
“We began talking with them about six weeks ago,” Reagan said. “The ability to identify a variant strain in wastewater is something that is very new. … That was a question we needed to know. We wanted to understand, if we began to see these changes in our clinical indicators, why that was happening.”
Ballad has upgraded its testing so that all locations can deliver results the same day, said Jamie Swift, Ballad’s chief infection prevention officer.
“We are proud to announce today that as of today, all of the testing will be same-day results. It will still be PCR testing — the gold standard for COVID testing,” Swift said. “So please, if you’re having symptoms, please call us. There are drive-thrus, Ballad Health Medical Associates offices, urgent cares — there are a lot of places to get tested.”
The region’s seven-day testing positivity percentage has declined slightly to 11.7% after remaining around 14% for much of April. But that is still roughly double the state rates, as Tennessee was 5.9% and Virginia’s rate was 6% Wednesday. Less than 5% is desirable.
The greatest community spread remains in the region’s most populous areas. Sullivan County has more than 550 active cases after adding an average of 40 cases daily for the past two weeks. Its seven-day positivity has dropped to 13.7%.
Washington County in Tennessee has added more than 35 new cases daily over the past two weeks and has about 400 active cases. Its positivity rate was 13.8%.
Runnels said with this much disease in the area this is no time for residents to lower their guard, urging people to continue mask wearing, social distancing, hand washing and avoiding crowds, especially if they haven’t received their vaccination.
“We are generally opposed to large gatherings at this point. We are not having large gatherings within our own organization. There are so many factors that go into those types of events, but we’re just not there yet,” Runnels said. “We feel confident that within a few weeks, potentially, we could see a permanent decline in our numbers if we can get people to get the vaccine. That will help all of us get back to normal.”