North Gwinnett News

The new COVID-19 omicron wave has started to wreak havoc as it starts pushing up the patient numbers in Georgia hospitals, especially the Atlanta area.

"We're seeing an increase spread amongst our health care providers now," Dr. Danny Branstetter, director of infection prevention for the 10-hospital Wellstar Health System, told Fox 5 Atlanta for a Dec. 28 story.

The number of patients hospitalized statewide with the virus has climbed by more than 50% in a week, rising above 1,900 on Monday.

"Hospitalizations are not rising as rapidly as previous surges," Branstetter said. "However, hospitalization is a lag from new diagnosis of infection. So we may see hospitalization start to increase in the next week or so, hopefully not to the same exponential rate."

The seven-day average of COVID-19 cases in Georgia rose to nearly 8,700 a day on Monday, according to the state Public Health Department. Enough positive tests have been recorded to account for more than 1% of all residents across a 19-county metro Atlanta area in the past two weeks.

"Misinformation from unapproved COVID tests could result in people not following isolation and quarantine protocols and lead to further transmission of the virus and serious or life-threatening illness," Public Health Commissioner Kathleen Toomey said in a statement.

She has also warned people of not accepting any services from people approaching others on the street or going door-to-door for an in-person test because these can be signs of a scam. 

"Unfortunately, scam artists seeking to take advantage of the increase in demand will attempt to con hard-working Georgians into paying for fake tests," said Attorney General Chris Carr. "Do your research to ensure you are visiting a legitimate operation and receiving results from a valid provider."