Officials at Northeast Georgia Health System said Wednesday the region might have reached its peak in new coronavirus cases, but they cautioned that social distancing rules still need to be followed.
And they warned that a second wave of cases is possible this fall.
"We are happy to report that our volumes of COVID-19 patients are declining and we know that is because our community acted quickly and acted fast and helped us to flatten that curve," Melissa Tymchuk, the health system's chief of staff, said. "And we are thankful. We're not declaring victory yet. But it does look like we might be past our peak."
The update was provided Wednesday during a virtual meeting sponsored by the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce.
The health system is treating 61 COVID-19 patients at its facilities across Northeast Georgia, and that number has stayed steady in recent days, said Dr. Supriya Mannepalli, director of the infectious disease unit at NGHS. She also said 687 patients who had been treated have been released from the hospital after recovering.
But Mannepalli cautioned that Hall County has 1,152 cases per 100,000 residents and the county has the fifth highest number of cases in Georgia.
"This is also time not to loosen our guard because if the numbers are declining, they are declining for reason," she said. "They are declining because we as a community responded the way we should."
She urged residents to continue following social distancing rules – avoiding crowds, limiting gatherings to fewer than 10 people, wearing masks when around other people and staying home if you are sick.
"Something else our team is working on is what will the next few months look like as we get back to a new normal," Mannepalli said. "I think everyone is talking about quarantine fatigue. I think that's real. But at the same time, what is our new normal going to look like is extremely important.”
Officials estimate the numbers of new cases will probably remain steady for a while.
"I don't think that it's going to go away," Michael Covert, the system's chief operating officer, said. "I think we're going to see that during the summer with the potential that there may be a surge in the fall, and we want to be prepared in that regard."
Although officials are optimistic about the number of cases, the health system still plans to make a mobile medical pod operational shortly to provide additional bed space for COVID patients. And they hope to continue to use about 100 health care workers, many of them critical care nurses, to assist in treating patients.
"I will tell you it's really made a difference for our staff because it spells them, if I can say it that way, since they are so involved with taking care of people," Michael Covert, the system's chief operating officer, said.
The hospital has resumed some elective surgeries, and Dr. Clifton Hastings said he hopes to return to a normal schedule of surgeries by June 1.
Officials also urged people to resume their normal medical visits.
"One of the things we're seeing … are patients who are coming in with significantly more serious, more urgent and more emergent issues," said Covert. "These are folks that have put off a lot of cardiac work, as an example, or cancer work or other surgeries that are needed. And we're finding that we really do need to in a timely manner find a way to treat these folks."
