Increases in COVID-19 cases have hit a new high across Fannin County while new cases have decreased among students and staff in Fannin County schools.
280 new cases were reported in Fannin County for the two-week period ending Friday, September 3, by the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH).
This includes 49 new cases confirmed Friday, August 27, the highest, single-day number on record since official reporting began. The previous, single-day high was 37 cases January 15, 2021.
Also, the previous two-week period in Fannin County saw 218 new cases reported.
Currently, 27% of persons being tested are positive for COVID-19.
Since the beginning of the outbreak, 2,734 cases have been recorded in Fannin County along with 73 deaths, according to the DPH figures. Hospitalization rates are the highest among 18- to 29-year-olds, while death rates are highest among the elderly population categories.
In Fannin County schools, for the week ending September 3, 33 new cases were reported among students and six cases among staff members.
Both are decreases from the previous week when 51 new students and 13 new staff cases were reported by the school system.
Since the beginning of the school year, officials have reported a total of 155 cases among the system’s 2,818 students and 36 among 465 staff members.
Meanwhile, vaccination rates have increased only slightly in the past several weeks when 34% of Fannin County residents were fully vaccinated near the beginning of the new COVID-19 outbreak.
As of September 3, DPH figures showed 9,281 residents were full vaccinated, 37% of the total population, while 10,375, or 41%, had received at least one dose of the vaccine.
The Georgia average is 44% for fully vaccinated individuals and 51% for individuals with at least one dose, according to the DPH.
Meanwhile, local health care officials continue to echo DPH advice that vaccinations are the best way to fight the spread of COVID-19.
The DPH says, “Getting vaccinated prevents severe illness, hospitalizations, and death; it also helps reduce the spread of the virus in communities.” The new Delta variant of COVID-19 is much more contagious than past versions, increasing the importance for vaccinations.
For a list of area facilities offering testing and vaccinations, please see page B5.