South Ga. seeing uptick in COVID cases

TIFTON, Ga. (WALB) - South Georgia health experts said COVID-19 cases are going up.

As much as we want to think that COVID is over, it is not. Masks are still needed to help protect yourself and your family from the virus. That’s according to the Department of Public Health (DPH) and Southwell Medical Center in Tifton.

In the past three weeks, DPH Spokeswoman Kristen Patten said more than 900 new cases were reported from 10 South Georgia counties. That includes Ben Hill, Berrien, Brooks, Echols, Cook, Irwin, Lanier, Tift, Turner, and Lowndes counties. In total, there are over 60,000 COVID cases across the counties.

“We also know that a lot of people are using the at-home test and those are often not reported back to us. So, of course, the number that we are seeing is probably on the lower end of what is actually in our communities at this time,” Patten said.

Dr. Cameron Nixon of Southwell Medical Center said the good thing is that the medical center hasn’t had any COVID-related deaths as it did during the peak of the pandemic a couple of years back. Although the number of positive COVID cases is increasing, Nixon said he doesn’t don’t believe there will be another wave or surge, like with the Delta and Omicron variants.

“But we’re seeing that it’s really highly contagious and a lot of people are catching it in the last two weeks and this is in our surrounding areas, as well as Tift County,” Nixon said.

Medical professionals said the CDC’s COVID guidelines are still very important and should be practiced to help slow down the spread of the virus.

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