Georgia continues its emergence from the post holiday spike in COVID-19 cases. A total of 2,587 new cases were reported across the state on Monday, per the Department of Public Health, which also noted 44 more virus-related deaths. One of those fatalities was reported here in Floyd County.
According to the latest report by the DPH issued just before 3 pm, there have been 752,448 confirmed cases of COVID-19 statewide. The state’s death toll now stands at 12,613. In Floyd County, there were 8,576 confirmed cases and 139 deaths. Gwinnett County had the state’s highest number of confirmed cases with 73,988. Fulton County had the most deaths with 896.
The COVID-19 Daily Status Report may be viewed on the Georgia Department of Public Health’s website, www.dph.georgia.gov. A vaccine dashboard and a vaccine locator are also featured on that site. As of the latest report at 6 pm on Monday evening, 954,786 vaccines had been administered statewide.
The DPH confirmed on Monday that there are now 19 cases of the COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7 identified in Georgia. The variant, which was first identified in the UK, is ‘signficantly more contagious’ than the SARS-CoV-2 virus and may have an increased risk of death. Both Moderna and Pfizer have said that their current vaccines appear to work against this variant, for which information is evolving quickly. No additional variants have been identified here (so far).
As of Monday afternoon, the COVID-19 vaccine was available at the Chattooga County Health Department. Those eligible to receive the vaccine should call to schedule an appointment at (706) 857-3471 while supplies last, according to a media release by the Northwest Health District.