COVID update: Local numbers trending upward with holidays
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Public health experts fear a surge in respiratory viruses following holiday gatherings and New Year’s Eve celebrations – and those concerns are being reflected in Augusta statistics.
Doctors at Augusta University Health say they’re seeing an uptick in COVID cases.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention transmission map, the majority of our local counties are red, which means high for COVID spread.
Holiday gatherings provide extra opportunities for these illnesses to spread and cases surged after Thanksgiving.
Another factor is the wave of flight cancellations sweeping the country, causing large amounts of people to be stuck in crowded, stressful settings at airports.
AU Health experts say they’re starting to see patients with both flu and COVID combined. We asked them what they recommend when it comes to testing.
“It really is, how reliable are they? Some of the home tests, most of the ones we use, really don’t turn positive if there really is an infection until a day or two after symptoms develop,” said Dr. Roger MacArthur, professor of medicine at Augusta University Medical Center.
MacArthur says that even if you’re vaccinated and have gotten the latest booster, don’t let your guard down. You can still get COVID. It just keeps you out of the hospital.
He says the booster has also been shown to wear off faster among those aged 70 and up.
Chief of Infectious Diseases at Medical of Georgia Dr. Jose Vazquez said: “COVID, we’re not sure yet, but it looks like it is starting to rear its ugly head and we’re starting to see that increase. That increase has been about 150 percent just in the last two weeks. We’re up to 20-something patients in the hospital.”
Vazquez says there has been a decent drop in RSV cases after the peak doctors saw back in October. However, he does warn that it is likely we’ll see more flu cases as flu season goes into the new year.
Copyright 2022 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
