Dougherty County leaders gather to update public on COVID-19 situation

ALBANY, Ga. – Since the last COVID-19 Task Force meeting two weeks ago, Phoebe has seen a slight uptick in coronavirus hospitalizations. During the last meeting, The hospital system celebrated having less than 30 coronavirus patients across their health system, a benchmark not reached since March, but now, there are 33 COVID-19 patients in Phoebe North and two in Phoebe Sumter. Overall, health officials say Dougherty County is doing well against novel virus.

“I think what we can expect at this point, there are going to be some fluctuations in those numbers day to day and week to week but I don’t think at this time it’s significant of any significant change in that trend that we’re seeing at this point,” says Dr. Steven Kitchen, Phoebe Chief Medical Officer.  

In addition to Phoebe’s low hospitalization rate, Mayor Bo Dorough says the county’s positivity rate is at an all-time low.

He says, “According to the Department of Public Health’s website, Dougherty County’s positivity rate in the last reporting period was 2.9%, the lowest in the 14 county district and that’s Southwest Georgia. That is extremely, extremely encouraging.”

And although the COVID-19 situation in Dougherty County has greatly improved since seeing their first COVID-19 case in March, residents are still dying.

“At this time we have had 189 deaths total,” says Coroner Michael Fowler, “I know that’s still too many deaths. We’ve had two more deaths since the last time I was up here. The death rate has slowed down tremendously.”

Wearing a mask, washing hands and keeping distance are tactics all the local health officials continue to push to help slow the spread of the virus.