Oviedo mayor has ‘3 asks’ of young population at the center of COVID-19 spike

OVIEDO, Fla. – The mayor of Oviedo took to social media Tuesday to ask residents in the 15 to 24-year-old range to take extra precautions when venturing out into the public after health officials released data showing that age group, in particular, was at the center of a surge in COVID-19 cases.

Mayor Megan Sladek found her city at the center of the spike that encompassed most of Seminole County and released data showing that a younger population was at the center of the recent positive cases propping up those statistics.

In her post, Sladek referred to herd immunity, saying that the young demographic had been “wildly successful” at trying to attain such immunity.

According to the Associated Press, herd immunity occurs when a virus can no longer spread easily because enough people are immune to it. That lowers the chances of the virus jumping from person to person and reaching those who haven’t been infected yet.

People can become immune to certain viruses after surviving infection or being vaccinated. Typically, at least 70% of a population must be immune to achieve herd immunity. But how long immunity lasts varies depending on the virus, and it’s not yet known how long COVID-19 survivors might have that protection.

[READ MORE: What is herd immunity and could it work with COVID-19?]

However, the topic of immunity relating to COVID-19 is debatable, as scientists are still at odds when determining if contracting COVID-19 really renders a person immune to a second infection.

Sladek had “3 asks” of the younger demographic to keep from “freaking out” some of the “older and sicker people” in the Oviedo community:

• “Stay at least 6 feet away from anyone who isn’t as young and healthy as you - even if you feel healthy, and definitely if you feel sick.”
• “Wear a mask at least in the grocery store and at the pharmacy. If you don’t have one, message me and I’ll hook you up.”
• “If you get so much as a nose tickle, QUARANTINE, at least until you can get tested for COVID-19 (it’s free, so no real excuse). Quarantine means don’t go anywhere near anyone, not even to the grocery store. Message me if you think you might have COVID-19 and I’ll let you know where to get tested.”

Sladek went on to say that 346 people in the area have active cases of COVID-19.

Seminole County Commissioner Jay Zembower said Tuesday he hoped the spike in cases was a one-off issue, but that measures would be taken to prevent further spread.

“Our hope is this is a blip or an anomaly based on the holiday schedule,” Zembower said. “And I think the messaging to people gets out and we get back to the community doing the right thing. If that happens, hopefully we don’t have to take additional measures. If it doesn’t happen, we’re going to have to have some consideration of what we do to protect the community.”

[RELATED: Oviedo at center of Seminole County coronavirus hot spot]

New data shows there were 264 new positive cases of COVID-19 in Seminole County from June 8-15. County leaders provided this data to News 6:

The majority, 153 patients, were adults between the ages of 18-30.

Age breakout of new patients is as follows:

• 5 patients aged 0-10

• 43 patients aged 11-20

• 114 patients aged 21-30

• 36 patients aged 31-40

• 27 patients aged 41-50

• 14 patients aged 51-60

• 15 patients aged 61-70

• 7 patients aged 71-80

• 2 patients aged 81-90

• 1 patient aged 91-100

Total patients hospitalized currently are on the rise, with 17 patients hospitalized today, up from five last Wednesday.

This comes after the county continues to deal with a record breaking number of positive coronavirus cases following Memorial Day weekend.

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