The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has risen almost 50% in Georgia in the last month, and the number of infections detected continues to accelerate.
More than 1,200 patients were hospitalized statewide Monday with the respiratory illness. That’s well below the record of roughly 6,000 that was reached in early September at the peak of Georgia’s fourth surge of virus cases. But it’s well above the recent low of 824 patients recorded on Nov. 22.
“We are fortunate that our cases are relatively low right now in south Georgia, but based on what is happening all across the country, we do not expect that to last long, Scott Steiner, CEO of Albany-based Phoebe Putney Health System, said in a Friday statement. “We strongly encourage all eligible individuals to receive a COVID vaccine and booster shot, and please be cautious as you travel and gather over the holidays.”
The state’s seven-day average of positive tests rose to nearly 2,800 a day on Monday. That number has nearly doubled in a week and is more than triple the recent low of early November.
Intensive care unit bed usage has been basically flat in the range of 2,400 a day for the last six weeks, a number that includes all illnesses and not just COVID-19. That’s about 82% of statewide capacity.