Morning COVID update for Cobb County: 7-day case rate up 181.44 percent

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an electron microscope view of the virus that caused COVID. a circular area dotted with round spotsThin section electron microscopic image of SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19. Spherical virus particles contain black dots, which are cross-sections through the viral nucleocapsid. In the cytoplasm of the infected cell, clusters of particles are found within the membrane-bound cisternae of the rough endoplasmic reticulum/Golgi area. Photo credit: Cynthia S Goldsmith and Azaibi Tamin; CDC

Posted By: Larry Felton Johnson December 31, 2021

Morning COVID update for Cobb County:

The CDC seven-day tracker reports that for the one-week period Cobb County’s case rate was 1,123.34 per 100,000 of population. That’s an increase of 181.44 percent over the last report.

There were 8,539 new cases of COVID in Cobb over the reporting period. Case positivity was 29.53 percent. The death rate, meanwhile, dropped 33.33 percent.

Here are the tables of numbers and percentage changes:

Cases8,539
Case Rate per 100k1,123.34
% Positivity29.53%
Deaths<10
% of population ≥ 5 years of age fully vaccinated44.9%
New Hospital Admissions199
Numbers
Cases181.44%
% Positivity14.14%
Deaths-33.33%
% of population ≥ 5 years of age fully vaccinatedN/A
New Hospital Admissions121.11%
Percentage change

The case rate on the Cobb & Douglas Public Health website, which reports on a 14-day basis rather than the 7-day basis of the CDC, hasn’t been updated, so it’s still at 1,762 per 100,000 of population

Hospital bed and ventilator report

As of yesterday afternoon at noon, the Georgia Department of Public health posted that Region N has 1,230 general inpatient beds in use out of 1,341 total beds, or 91.72% of capacity. Region N includes Cobb, Douglas, Paulding and Cherokee counties.

Region N has 181 Intensive Care Unit beds in use out of a total of 196 total ICU beds, or 92.35% of capacity.

Region N has 292 Emergency Department beds in use out of 325 total beds, or 89.85% of capacity.

Region N has 102 ventilators in use out of 176 total ventilators, or 57.95% of capacity.

Statewide there were 2,864 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 as of noon yesterday, representing 17 percent of the overall patient census.

Sources of data on COVID-19

For state and Cobb County data:

Cobb & Douglas Public Health runs the case rate on their home page, although it is not updated frequently.

Visit the Cobb & Douglas Public Health home page by following this link

A more frequently updated summary of the statistics on COVID for Cobb County is the CDC’s County View page for Cobb County. The numbers come from the Georgia Department of Public Health but are displayed in a much easier-to-read way than the sprawling GDPH website. From this page you can get the one-week figures on the number of new cases, case rate per 100,000 of population, hospitalizations, deaths, and the percentage change from the previous 7-day period. It also includes data on testing and vaccination rates.

Visit the CDC County View page for Cobb County by following this link

The Georgia Department of Public Health publishes a daily status report on the pandemic every afternoon at around 3 p.m. It’s a comprehensive report with extensive data and charts arranged statewide and by county, that also includes age breakdowns, racial demographics, and data on vaccination and testing.

It isn’t the easiest system to navigate, but it’s worth spending time learning how to use if you’re interested in getting the latest statewide and local data on the state of COVID-19.

Visit the Georgia Department of Public Health Daily Status Report by following this link

To get an overview of how much the pandemic is stressing the hospital systems in terms of ER visits, hospital bed capacity, and ventilator use, there is a Hospital Bed and Ventilator Use report with interactive maps. The map is organized by hospital region, and Cobb County is part of Region N.

Visit the Georgia Hospital Beds and Ventilator Report by following this link

To get data on what percentage of patients in Georgia hospitals were admitted for COVID-19 versus all other causes, there is a Georgia Medical Facility Patient Census. It also reports numbers by statewide and hospital region.

Visit the Georgia Medical Facility Patient Census by following this link