‘Unprecedented’: AU Health calls for more help as COVID-19 cases increase

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Augusta University Health officials say the community is at the highest risk for COVID-19 transmission ever since the start of the pandemic.

As a result, health officials are looking to encourage the public to stay at home if at all possible.

This is due to a recent influx in cases and patients at the hospital. AU Health officials say they now have more than 100 COVID-19 patients -- a record.

AU Health’s Dr. Phillip Coule called the situation “far worse than back in July or August.”

All elective surgeries at the hospital have now been canceled as well.

“Now is not the time to relax, in fact, now is the time to consider staying at home unless you’re getting healthcare or getting vaccinated or things like that,” Coule said.

Coule added that AU Health has received more than 2,500 calls to their COVID-19 hotline in an 8-hour period in the days before Christmas.

The need for testing in the community is “unprecedented,” Coule said.

Meanwhile, over at University Hospital, hospital officials there say they hit a record of 127 patients on Monday. They are expecting the numbers to go up more over the next 24 hours.

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