No local increase in COVID vaccinations or testing ahead of holidays, DPH says

While other parts of the state reported long lines and scarce options for COVID-19 testing before Christmas, this trend did not extend to the Lake Area.

“We’re seeing small increases here and there across our 13-county district, but nothing significant enough to say that the holiday season is getting people out there,” said Michael Hokanson, spokesman for the North Central Health District.

In the lead-up to the holidays, the district reported a 0.4 percent increase in the number of coronavirus cases from Dec. 12-19.

Hokanson said DPH expects the numbers to go up in the next few weeks, especially after the holidays.

“Usually when it comes to COVID-19 trends, what happens nationally, especially in states where testing levels are higher…within the next few weeks, we’ll begin to start seeing those trends mirrored in our area in the state of Georgia,” he said.

“We’re still really, really early on; we’re only seeing minimal increases”

Michael Hokanson, NCHD Spokesman

Health officials caution it’s unclear how fast the new Omicron variant is spreading in Georgia. According to Hokanson, they do not screen every positive test for variants.

“Even though this variant is spreading very quickly––which is worrisome…it doesn’t seem to be as potent as Delta,” Governor Brian Kemp said Monday. “Hospitals are very busy right now…they’re telling me if we could hold on to the end of the year and get past that, they feel like they’ll be in good shape for a while.”

View the latest NCHD operations summary here.

For the district’s full COVID-19 information page, click here.