Several Fannin County officials are urging residents to consider being vaccinated against COVID-19 as the number of local cases grow and health care facilities are being strained all across North Georgia.
A letter posted on the county’s website Friday says, “If you have not been vaccinated, consider if the time is correct for you to get vaccinated.” It is signed by seven county leaders and officials from Blue Ridge and McCaysville. (The full letter appears on page A4).
The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) issued a stronger statement the day before saying, “COVID vaccination...is our best tool for ending this pandemic.” The statement was made in conjunction with an announcement that many hospitals are having to declare themselves on diversion, meaning they are temporarily unable to provide normal emergency care to patients arriving by ambulance.
And while this does not affect emergency medical care, it shows, “The current surge of COVID cases throughout Georgia is stretching hospitals and EMS personnel and resources to unprecedented levels,” the DPH said.
The Fannin County School System reported 51 new COVID-19 cases among students and 12 among staff members in the week ending Friday. This brought the totals to 122 students and 30 teachers infected since the beginning of the school year.
DPH statistics, also released Friday, showed 218 new COVID-19 cases in Fannin County during the last two weeks. This brought the total number to 2,604 with 69 deaths attributed to the virus.
During those same two weeks, DPH figures reflected 24.5% of PCR tests were producing positive results.
Steven Miracle, CEO at Georgia Mountains Health, said of 1,600 people requested a COVID test from that facility, “more than we have tested in months. We will report that 22% of those tested positive,” he said.
Jason Jones, CEO at Fannin Regional Hospital, said the hospital is experiencing a significant increase in Emergency Room visits, hospitalizations, and ICU admissions related to the COVID-19 surge. Both the emergency department and ICU are continuing to run at or above capacity.
As of Monday morning, 80% of all inpatients are COVID-19 positive with over 90% of those being unvaccinated, Jones said.
Union General Hospital reported Friday it was at 162% capacity. The hospital is licensed for 45 beds but had a total of 64 inpatients. Of those, 46 are COVID-positive patients. Of those 46, 43 are unvaccinated and three had received a COVID vaccine.
Meanwhile, free COVID-19 testing continues to be available through the Gilmer County Health Department.
According to information from Jennifer King, communications specialist for the North Georgia Health District of the DPH, the testing site has been moved to better facilitate testing as hundreds of residents have already taken advantage of the service.
Beginning Monday, August 30, the drive-thru testing site was moved to the Gilmer County Civic Center at 1561 South Main Street in Ellijay. Tests are administered Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. King’s announcement said anyone who has COVID-19 symptoms or has been in close contact recently with a person infected with the virus needs to be tested. Pre-registration is encouraged at mako.exchange/splash/GAmakotesting, but is not required.