Covid in Fayette beginning to recede in the rearview window

With an average of under 2 new Covid-19 cases reported per day in Fayette County during the past 33 days, and with exactly half of all county residents having been fully vaccinated, the pandemic locally is being treated by many as almost a thing of the past.

Most businesses have dropped the masking requirements (medical offices being the major exception), Fayette schools are planning for full in-person classroom instruction beginning in August, and Independence Day celebrations are crowded with little to no social distancing.

Since June 1, only 57 Fayette residents have tested positive for the coronavirus infection, according to data from the Georgia Department of Public Health. During that same period of more than a month, only 2 Fayette residents have died of Covid complications, DPH data shows.

The 2-week infection rate locally is three-tenths of 1% — that’s 3 Fayette residents infected out of every 1,000 residents tested over a 2-week period, DPH reports.

Meanwhile, at the state level, DPH announced last week the end of weekend Covid data reporting, a feature of the pandemic since March 2020. Data will still be collected and will be reported on the DPH website Monday through Friday.

Gov. Brian Kemp has announced the end of all health emergency orders, also for the first time in 16 months. The governor did issue some emergency directives that are intended to help businesses recover from the economic troubles caused by the pandemic, mainly by cutting some government red tape.

Perhaps the most telling statistic showing the waning of the pandemic is the number of patients currently hospitalized for Covid infections. As of July 3, there are only 437 Covid patients in hospital beds across the state of Georgia, DPH data shows. That is only 2.8% of all persons in all hospitals in the state.

Compare that to the peak of the pandemic when more than 33% — 1 out of every 3 patients — were being treated for Covid in the state’s medical facilities, public and private.

The state’s vaccination program likely has significantly lowered the transmission rate of coronavirus. In Fayette, as of July 3, 56,393 residents have been fully vaccinated against Covid, DPH reports. That’s 50% of all Fayette residents, the state says. That compares to 38% fully vaccinated across the state of Georgia.

Here are the local and state numbers as of July 3:

Case totals since pandemic beginning

Georgia — 904,073

Fayette — 6,839

2-week infection rate

Georgia — 1.7%

Fayette — 0.3%

Deaths

Georgia — 18,517

Fayette — 160