Reports: New local COVID-19 cases drop

♦ One new death was confirmed, however.

New local and statewide COVID cases didn’t rise as sharply as the previous week.

Over the past week, Gordon County saw 20 new cases and one confirmed death. Across Georgia, 6,016 new cases of the virus and 102 confirmed deaths were reported.

Gordon County’s Community Level stayed at Medium over the prior week. Per CDC guidelines, individuals should stay up to date on their COVID vaccines, get tested if they have symptoms, and wear a mask if they have symptoms, a positive test, or COVID exposure. Those at high risk for severe illness should consider masking in indoor public spaces at that level.

That level remains medium because of last week’s hospitalization rates — those have declined slightly to 16.6 new COVID admissions per 100,000 in population. Overall, staffed inpatient beds in use by COVID patients are up to 6.6%. The case rate has increased slightly, up to 115.59 per 100k in population.

Currently, the Omicron variant of COVID remains top of the food chain in the United States. Delta and other variants still retain a few cases, but have mainly been quashed by Omicron. Three subvariants of Omicron make up a significant portion of cases in America, and have for several weeks: XBB.1.5, which is the current dominant subvariant, BQ.1.1, and BQ.1. The subvariant which drove the summer spike in cases, BA.5, has quickly been dethroned by those variants, going from 70% of new cases down below 5%.

CDC continues to recommend updated bivalent boosters for those ages five and over and at least two months out from their previous dose, and for children six months to four years of age who had the Moderna primary series at least two months prior.

To schedule a COVID-19 vaccine or booster appointment, those interested can also log on to dph. georgia.gov/covid-vaccine

or call 888-457-0186 for the Health Department Vaccine Scheduling Resource Line. For more information on vaccination and boosters, visit itsthatsimplega.ga.gov.

Anyone experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, or those who have been in close contact with an individual with COVID-19, should be tested regardless of vaccination status.

Four more free at-home test kits are now available per household through USPS. Those who would like those free kits can visit covid.gov/

tests and input their information to get tests shipped straight to their front door.

At DPH/Mako Medical test sites, testing is free of charge. Those in Gordon County can also find a PCR testing kiosk within AdventHealth Gordon. To find a COVID-19 test site, log on to dph.georgia.gov/ covidtesting.