ATL Standard

Hospitalizations continue to rise across Georgia due to COVID-19, according to a recent news report.

Scott Steiner, CEO of Albany-based Phoebe Putney Health System, said in a statement that he expected the numbers in the area to rise on a par with the rest of the country.

""We are fortunate that our cases are relatively low right now in south Georgia but, based on what is happening all across the country, we do not expect that to last long,” Steiner said. "We strongly encourage all eligible individuals to receive a COVID vaccine and booster shot, and please be cautious as you travel and gather over the holidays."

Fox5 Atlanta said that hospitalizations due to COVID-19 surged 50% in the state in November, along with a surge in the number of infections.

The Georgia Department of Public Health reported that Atlanta, along with the suburbs northwest of the city saw the most cases.

The surge brought the seven-day mean to just over 2,100, a total that had not been reached since the end of the first week of October, according to Fox5 Atlanta.

Mercer University microbiology professor Dr. Amber Schmidtke took to Twitter to point out that the city of Atlanta would not be spared during the ongoing surge.

“COVID-19 bends it like Beckham in Georgia,” she wrote. “What's different about this surge is that whereas past surges have largely spared the Atlanta metro due to more robust public health policies, this time Atlanta leads the surge for cases.”

Schmidtke added that cases were rising drastically, and the state's ability to counter the problem was waning.

“We're already seeing a dip in staffed ICU beds statewide,” she wrote. “These may be due to HCWs out sick. Region K [southwest Georgia] saw a drop of 21 staffed ICU beds since Friday. This isn't how many beds are occupied but what Georgia's capacity is to care for those who are most ill. Georgia is not ready.”