For months, while the rest of the world was seeing the impact of COVID-19, Warren County remained a generally virus-free zone.

The county is now catching up.

It took almost two months — March 24 to May 13 — for the county to see its second case. There were fewer than 10 total cases through July 10 and less than 30 through the end of August. August 21 was the first time there were three new cases in the county. Just two months ago, October saw the first days of both four and five new cases.

The first COVID death in the county was announced by the Pennsylvania Department of Health in July. That announcement met with official doubt and denial at the county level.

Last week, there were three COVID-related deaths confirmed by the county coroner.

With 59 new confirmed cases announced on Monday, the one-day totals are closing in on the total from the first eight months of the pandemic’s arrival here — there were 71 cases at the end of October.

There have been more than 400 new cases in the county in the past month-and-a-half and the number of cases continues to increase.

Officials are calling on county residents to redouble their efforts.

“We have been blessed over the past several months with an apparent general immunity to the COVID-19 virus,” Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry President and CEO Jim Decker said in a letter released on Monday. “While our local economy suffered through global closures and operational restrictions our health generally was minimally impacted.”

“The facts regarding the virus spread indicate that this is no longer the case,” Decker said. “COVID-19 is here and regardless of your political ideologies, it requires each and every one of us to do our part to protect one another.”

“Warren County has recorded over 400 confirmed cases of COVID-19,” he said. “Three Warren County families have lost a loved one to COVID-19 over the past several weeks.”

“We are now entering a phase post-Thanksgiving where it is expected to see increases in positive cases,” Warren General Hospital Chief Nursing Officer Joe Akif said. “It would seem that daily cases we have been seeing will not slow down.”

“As of this week the daily communications with all local healthcare providers has stepped up,” Akif said. “There is definitely an increase in acuity of patients being cared for. This is placing strains on the current system.”

“With the increase in acuity, all healthcare providers in Warren County are putting in place practices to address a sicker population,” he said. “We are now entering the next phase of caring for COVID. The hospital is now preparing for an increase COVID inpatients. We have made facility upgrades to care for these patients.”

“Warren General Hospital has opened a COVID-19 inpatient ward and it is filling up rapidly,” Decker said. “All regional hospitals are in similar situation regarding available admittance capacities. Only the most severe cases are being accepted for transfer to the Erie facilities. Transfer times are long, often taking up to 24 hours to complete.”

While the number of confirmed cases is rising consistently and dramatically, the number of tests is not keeping pace.

“Testing supplies have become critically low again,” Akif said. “With the increase of symptomatic patients, even the private labs are having difficulty keeping pace. Return for results is now in the five- to seven-day range.”

The state is requiring proof of a negative test or 10 days of quarantine for people who leave the state for more than 24 hours — other than those traveling for work, medical, or military reasons, passing through without a stay, and those who are court-ordered to travel. That is putting further strain on test supplies. In fact, “I am unaware of anyone providing this surveillance testing,” Akif said.

There is some light starting to show at the end of the tunnel.

“The hospital is currently working with the state to prepare for vaccinations for direct patient care providers at the hospital,” Akif said. “This is anticipated in the next couple of weeks.”

“Doses of the vaccine are expected to be received at Warren General Hospital the week of Dec. 14,” Decker said. “This initial inventory will be dedicated solely to front-line care givers and medical staff. The vaccine is a two-stage dosage with the second injection required 20-plus days following the initial dosing. Thus, the vaccine will not be effective in these individuals until after the second dose is received which will be mid-January.”

“Reports indicate the broader — community-wide — availability of the vaccines is expected in the April time frame with dosing prioritized to the most vulnerable to infection among us based upon direct potential exposure to infected individuals, age and pre-existing medical conditions. We encourage everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible.”

Until then, the best defenses in the community arsenal are masks, social distancing, and hand-washing.

“We must all follow the CDC guidelines for masks, hand-washing, and social distancing,” Decker said. “We must all avoid all gatherings outside our immediate household to the maximum extent possible. This is especially important if there are ‘at-risk’ individuals attending — defined by age (65 and over), prior and current poor health condition.”

“All deaths to date in Warren County have co-morbidity — existing poor health conditions exacerbated by the virus,” he said.

“None of us want this to be how we spend our lives, but it is the reality we face,” Decker said. “None of us want this virus to rule our lives, but it does. We all want life to go back to ‘normal,’ and it will.”