PITTSBURG, Kan. — As they have many times over the last year, local health officials gathered in the lobby of the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts Tuesday morning to address the recent spike in COVID-19 cases and to urge people to continue to get vaccinated. “The single greatest protective element from the virus is the vaccine,” said Public Health Officer Dr. Tim Stebbins, “and we are encouraging anyone not vaccinated to seek the vaccine.” Just over a month ago, Crawford County’s case numbers were down to single digits each week, but as the volatile Delta variant has entered the scene, cases have once again risen to almost triple digits with five additional deaths within 10 days. “The variant is more transmissible and is causing worse infection even in the younger population that tolerated the previous variants well,” Stebbins said.