ATLANTA — Despite efforts by health officials, hospitalizations in Georgia are climbing once again because of the coronavirus. The state is now seeing numbers comparable to what it saw in early March.
The number of new cases reported on a daily basis is up by more than 500% compared to this time last month. The increase has some county and hospital officials uneasy.
“It’s very discouraging and certainly – I think I speak for all healthcare workers to say we are tired -- very, very tired," said Dr. Jayne Morgan, the executive director of the COVID Task Force and M.D. with Piedmont Health Corporation.
Current patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 is up by 170% compared to this time last month. According to a database by the Georgia Coordinating Center, 15 local hospitals were reporting overcrowding Monday afternoon.
The chart below shows the number of new cases compared to the number of active patients as of Monday.
“I’m very worried, but I’m not surprised because really, this is a perfect storm. Less than 50% of our county, less than 50% of the state is fully vaccinated. We have a variant that is highly transmissible. And our mitigation measures have been relaxed, not just in vaccinated people but all people," said Dr. Audrey Arona, the health director for Gwinnett, Newton, and Rockdale Counties.
Georgia still remains one of the lowest vaccine administering states in the country.
On Sunday, the CDC reported that Georgia ranked 49th for one dose administration and 50th for fully vaccinated. More than half of eligible residents remain unvaccinated.