Higher rates of confirmed COVID-19 infections continue in White County.
The seven-day moving average of confirmed cases reached another high mark for the county at a rate of 38 new reports per day on Sept. 7, according a daily update by Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH). That’s up from an average of 34.7 from Aug. 31, which at the time surpassed the previous high of 30 cases on Jan. 14 this year.
There have been 266 confirmed cases reported for the month through Sept. 7 for the county. (DPH notes only positives from PCR tests are used to identify confirmed cases.) The state public health update shows 676 confirmed reports in the county for August, up from 89 confirmed case reports in July.
The county’s top monthly case count during the pandemic was 697 in December 2020.
DPH lists White County as having 4,052 confirmed cases diagnosed from PCR testing and 88 confirmed deaths attributed to COVID-19 during the pandemic. In addition, there have been 272 positives reported from antigen tests and 12 probable COVID-19 deaths, according to DPH.
Meanwhile, state public health reported that 9,581 of the county’s residents are now considered fully vaccinated, still around 32% of the population, as of Sept. 7. A total of 10,991 people are listed as having received at least one vaccine dose, about 37% of the population.
That still falls behind rates for much of the state. The report shows 44% of Georgians are considered fully vaccinated and 52% have received at least one dose.
On Sept. 3, Georgia DPH announced the state had surpassed 20,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
“It is tragic but not surprising that we have surpassed this grim milestone of 20,000 COVID deaths in our state,” said state Public Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey. “Ninety seven percent of COVID deaths since we’ve had vaccine are in unvaccinated individuals. These deaths are preventable.”
The spreading of the Delta variant of the coronavirus has been cited in the recent surges in COVID-19 cases that have strained resources for EMS and hospitals throughout the state. Public health officials say the variant is more transmissible than the original virus and more likely to cause severe illness and hospitalization than other variants.
All Georgians aged 12 and older are being urged to get vaccinated, wear a mask in public settings and wash their hands frequently.
Those wishing to get a vaccine are advised to check with the their local health department, healthcare provider or pharmacy.