COVID-19 cases across the Northeast Georgia region continue to surge after the holidays, with hospitalization and case rates climbing in area counties.
At the end of December, the state of Georgia broke its previous record for confirmed COVID-19 cases. The current wave of cases, brought on by the quickly and easily transmissible Omicron variant, has surpassed both the case spikes in January 2021 and August 2021.
Hospitalizations are climbing in the region with 228 patients currently admitted with COVID-19. Those numbers began climbing just before Christmas, with more than 30 percent of the region’s hospitalizations being classified as COVID-19 patients according to the Georgia Medical Facility Patient Census.
Habersham County has seen 252 new COVID-19 cases since Christmas as the Omicron variant surges across the state, with an 18 percent test positivity rate over the past two weeks.
The Georgia Department of Health maintains that vaccination is the best defense against COVID-19, but with only 41 percent of Habersham County’s population vaccinated, other mitigation efforts should continue to be used to keep transmission low. These mitigation strategies include wearing a mask indoors, washing hands regularly and social distancing.
Even with Habersham’s low vaccination rate, it isn’t the lowest in the region. Banks County holds the lowest vaccination rate in the Northeast Georgia region according to District 2 Public Health, with only 31 percent of the county’s population fully vaccinated.
Forsyth County holds the highest vaccination rate in the District 2 region, with 57 percent of residents fully vaccinated and a population nearly 200,000 people greater than Habersham County. Forsyth also holds the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the region, while Franklin County currently holds the lowest.
The region health department is aware of the current need for more COVID-19 testing in Northeast Georgia, and is working to expand access to testing. For current available COVID-19 testing sites, check here.
