Georgia saw an increase of COVID-19 cases in May. Here’s what that means
The number of COVID-19 cases have slightly increased in Georgia throughout May and June, and local health professionals are reporting higher rates of transmission.
Most Georgia counties have a low COVID-19 community levels as of June 9, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thirty-three counties have a medium community level, including counties near the Atlanta metropolitan area and Middle Georgia, such as Bibb County. Two counties, Houston and Bleckley, have high community levels.
Although the community level is low in counties like Muscogee, Chief Medical Officer for Piedmont Columbus Regional Chris Edwards told the Ledger-Enquirer, much of Georgia is showing a high community transmission level according to the data that healthcare facilities use.
As people gather for Juneteenth and Independence Day, they should stay up-to-date with CDC vaccination guidelines and those who are at risk for severe disease should consider masking and social distancing, Edwards said.
“Please enjoy the celebrations, but understand that if you are exposed to COVID you are likely to also become COVID positive with the current variant,” he said. “Fortunately, the community level remains low, and the disease severity is so far low as well.”
Latest COVID statistics
After the omicron variant caused a surge that saw the highest number of cases in the pandemic, the months after saw some of the lowest levels of spread. Georgia reached a low following the surge with a rate of 49 cases per 100,000 people in a two-week period on April 16, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.
On April 16, there were 5,321 cases in a two-week period reported in Georgia. There were 28,699 new cases of COVD-19 reported in the last two weeks, as of June 15.
The seven-day moving average for the state on June 15 was 1,979 cases. The seven-day moving average is calculated by taking the number of cases reported in the last seven days, adding them up and then dividing by seven. The moving average has been trending upwards since mid-April.
There were 373 COVID-19 deaths in the state since May, and 31,952 deaths since the pandemic began. As of June 15, 577 people in the state are hospitalized.
The CDC changed its framework in determining community transmission levels in March by calculating the number of hospital beds being used, hospital admissions and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in the area.
Low hospitalization rates
Hospitalization rates have been consistently low over the past few months, Edwards said.
“We are seeing a slight uptick over the past week to two weeks but numbers are still low compared to other times during the pandemic,” he said.
St. Francis-Emory Healthcare has seen low hospitalizations in May and into June, spokesperson Grant Farrimond told the Ledger-Enquirer, with the hospital caring for less than 10 COVID-19 positive patients as of June 13.
Both Piedmont and St. Francis-Emory report that the length of hospital stays for COVID patients is shorter than it has been at other times during the pandemic.
“We have noticed the severity of illness has been less, resulting in patients not needing higher levels of care when and if they become hospitalized,” Farrimond said. “This has resulted in a continued decrease in patients needing intensive care and ventilator breathing assistance.”
Vaccines still available
Although cases remained low last summer, the health department will not assume the trend will be the same this year because a lot has changed, said West Central Health District spokesperson Pam Kirkland.
“We are continuing to monitor the numbers and will change our strategy to mitigate an influx of cases should that happen,” she said.
Some public health experts have begun saying that COVID-19 may become endemic, meaning the virus will not disappear and residents will likely get regular booster shots similar to getting their annual flu shot.
There has been a slight increase in the number of people coming to the health department to be tested, she said. Fewer than 10 people had been getting tested in Muscogee County for “some time,” but in the last week of May the number increased to 20-30 people.
As of June 1, 64% of Georgia residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 57% are fully vaccinated. About 24% of residents have received an additional dose of the vaccine.
“Vaccines are still available at all county health departments, as well as home test kits,” Kirkland said. “Also, we now have a mobile app, so folks can access our locations for our mobile unit, county health departments and services.”
Here are the latest COVID-19 trends in Muscogee County, according to DPH data.
Muscogee County
Muscogee County reported a two-week case rate of 157 cases per 100,000 people on June 15. The case rate steadily increased throughout most of May after reaching a low of 13 cases per 100,000 people on April 18.
The seven-day moving average on June 15 was 17.7 cases, which gradually increased from 4.4 cases on May 1.
There were 9 deaths from COVID-19 in the county since May. Since the start of the pandemic, Muscogee County has reported 32,768 coronavirus cases and 724 deaths.
In the last two weeks, 18.8% of COVID tests in the county were positive.
As of June 15, 52% of Muscogee County residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 46% are fully vaccinated. Additionally, 19% of residents have received an additional dose of the vaccine.
More information about COVID-19 data in Georgia can be found on DPH’s COVID-19 status website.
This story was originally published June 17, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
