New local COVID cases rise for second week

Gordon County saw another increase in COVID cases over the last week, with another new death.

Last week, Gordon County saw 41 new cases and one death. Across Georgia, 5,208 new cases and 68 deaths were reported.

Gordon County’s Community Level has remained in the Low category after several weeks of remaining Medium. 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 using public transport are also recommended to mask.

Due to the prior week’s increase in cases, the case rate has increased back up to 81.09 per 100,000 in population. Hospital admissions have now dropped to 8.1 per 100k in population, while staffed inpatient beds in use by COVID patients are also down again, to 3.2%

Nationwide, COVID cases also continue to trend downwards alongside hospitalizations and deaths. There have been over 102 million cases of COVID-19 in the United States, with 1.1 million deaths. Per CDC data, over 23,000 people are currently hospitalized with COVID.

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.