Covid numbers continue on a downward trend in Georgia as well as in Columbia and Richmond counties.
New numbers reported by the Georgia Department of Public Health Monday morning show that despite the recent decline, the number of cases in Georgia is still higher than it was at the first peak in July. Nearly 70,000 new cases – 69,994 — have been reported in the state in the last two weeks.
On July 24, coronavirus cases peaked in Georgia at 4,777. As of yesterday, Georgia had 4,932 active cases, according to health department data. The most recent peak occurred on Jan. 8 with 10,368 cases statewide.
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On Sunday, Columbia County reported 968 cases in the two weeks previous, according to state public health data, and Richmond County reported 1,644.
University Hospital reported on Monday 98 hospitalized patients. That was the first time since Dec. 15 the hospital’s in-patient census of COVID-19 patients was below 100.
None of the public health departments contacted to get an explanation for the decreases responded. Phone calls to the Richmond and Columbia county health departments all went to voice mail, and a call to the East Central Health District of the Georgia Department of Health was not returned. A phone call to the Georgia Department of Health headquarters in Atlanta was also not returned.
According to the New York Times Coronavirus Tracker, the average number of new cases fell to 135 in Richmond County on Sunday, down 3 percent from the previous day, and an average of three deaths per day. In Columbia County, the average number of new cases fell to 94, down by 7 percent, and an average of two deaths per day in the last week.
The tracker also showed 57 new cases reported in Columbia County on Sunday and no deaths. Richmond County reported 107 new cases and no deaths. The state as a whole reported 3,509 new cases and two deaths.
Local health officials attribute the declines to the post-Christmas and post-New Year’s infections running their course.
Rebecca Sylvester, a spokesperson for University Hospital, said the recent vaccinations may also have contributed to the decreases. She said that hospital personnel who received the first round of vaccinations saw COVID-19 antibodies develop within 10-days, which suggests that, even with fewer than 1 million Georgians vaccinated, vaccinations may be helping reduce the number of cases.
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Georgia Department of Health spokesperson Nancy Nydam agrees with Sylvester.
“The decreases we are seeing are likely an indication that we are beyond the surge of cases due to the holidays,” Nydam said Monday.
She cautioned Georgians not to let down their guards, however. She said the state levels of infection and transmission are still very high.
“We are still at very high levels of infection and transmission,” Nydam said.
Further, the British variant of COVID-19 has arrived, and Georgia has 19 cases as of Monday. According to Nydham, the new variant is highly contagious and may be more lethal.
Moderna announced last week that it had tested its vaccine against both the new British variant and the one from South Africa. The study, done in conjunction with the Vaccine Research Center and the National Institutes of Health Allery and Infectious Diseases unit, found the Moderna vaccine to be effective against both new strains.
Just a few days earlier, Pfizer announced its vaccine had proven effective against the new British variant. They conducted their study in conjunction with BioNTech, a German biotech firm that specialized in manufacturing cancer treatments.
Even so, both are working to tweak their vaccines to ensure they are effective against all three strains of COVID-19, according to the science journal “Nature.”
To date, Georgia has reported 749,867 cases of coronavirus and 12,570 confirmed deaths and another 1,628 probable deaths.
Debbie Reddin van Tuyll is Editor-in-chief of The Augusta Press. Reach her at debbie@theaugustapress.com
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