Below is a graph of new COVID cases detected in 31411 up to the week ended Jan 8, 2022 (residents, not visitors)
After a resurgence of new confirmed COVID cases for island residents, the “Delta” spike peaked at 26 new cases in the week ending 9/4/21, the numbers began to fall rapidly over the next several weeks, then stabilized at a fairly low level for a three month period. But in the three weeks since the holidays, the number of positive cases reported in 31411 has shot to 29 for the week ended January 8, 2022. The testing center in the village is straining to keep up with demand, and we’re all bracing for what seems an inevitable record spike as the Omicron variant arrives!
This brings our Community Transmission Index back into the very high range again, at 580! Note that the Delta variant peak was higher than the two prior peaks in the first year of the pandemic: July 18, 2020 (21 cases) and January 30, 2021 (20 cases. Also note that the Omicron variant seems to be much more easily transmitted, and there’s a good possibility that cases and possibly hospitalizations will peak again quickly. Please continue to be careful over the the next several weeks!!
Other metrics: One of the best measure of the infections in our area is the current number of hospitalizations. These charts are updated daily and give a good idea of how well the pandemic is being contained. Scroll to the bottom chart to see the current hospitalizations in Savannah – St Josephs, Candler, and Memorial – they are nearly, if not already out of ICU beds for new patients. (*For complete Coastal Health District Information visit https://covid19.gachd.org/)
