'Not out of the woods yet:' COVID surge subsides, but disease still dangerous

Alan Mauldin, The Albany Herald, Ga.
·2 min read
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Jul. 30—ALBANY — The medical community is cautiously optimistic that the current surge in COVID-19 has peaked in the Albany area, but the return of students to area schools remains a concern as the disease that has killed more than a million Americans remains a force to be reckoned with.

These occasional surges in cases will be part of the new normal, at least for the foreseeable future, according to Dr. James Black, director of emergency medicine at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital.

"We're not out of the woods yet," he said.

Over the previous week, the Phoebe Hospital System saw the number of patients hospitalized for treatment for the novel coronavirus decrease from 47 on July 22 to 35 hospitalized in Albany and Americus, on Friday. One patient was being treated in an intensive care unit.

As of Friday, there were 1,505 COVID patients hospitalized across the state, accounting for 9.3 percent of all patients being cared for in medical facilities, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health. At the previous peak in mid-January, there were more than 5,500 patients hospitalized for treatment.

"COVID is still present in our community, around the state and around the world," Black said.

The BA.4 and BA.5 variants continue to make up the majority of cases, and although those mutations have not been as virulent as previous variants, officials say they are still capable of causing severe illness.

While less severe overall, the prevalent variants also are more easily transmissible, hence doctors' concerns about the impact the return of students to class could have.

"With school students back, it's going to be a time when people who haven't seen each other want to gather up," Black said. "There's going to be football starting up.

"Be mindful. It still has the potential to cause severe disease. It's still very contagious. We just want to remind people, despite the positive report overall, people need to be aware it is still present."

As the medical community has said in the past, the best ways to guard against catching and spreading the disease is to wear a face mask in public, get vaccinated or boosted and practice good hygiene practices.

As has been the case during previous surges, it seems individuals are masking up more lately, which seems to be a natural response.

"I do think people respond to the number of cases," Black said. "When they're going out, (some) tend to wear masks. I'd like to see a sustained effort on this."