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The Georgia Department of Public Health reported 89 new COVID-19 cases for Troup County on Friday, one of the lowest totals for the county since a new pandemic high was reported on Jan. 11. As of Friday, Troup County had 887 positive cases over the last two weeks, according to data from the Georgia Department of Public Health.

However, Dr. Kenneth Horlander, a physician for Emory at LaGrange, noted that the case numbers probably lag behind a bit, since not every case is reported.

“There’s going to always be a delay in numbers, and those numbers are always lower than reality,” he said. “If you go out and get sick, and don’t get tested [or report it], it’s not going to get reported [to the state.] A lot of people don’t end up reporting [their COVID results.]”

Horlander said WellStar West Georgia Medical Center is dealing with an average of 50 to 60 patients at a time. Some of them have to be put on ventilators if their condition worsens.

“The [COVID cases] numbers have been up and down,” he said. “The ICU though is pretty heavy with cases. When cases get that bad, they stay bad for a long time. We’re seeing a lot of very sick people, and they’re mostly not vaccinated. If they were vaccinated, they were very immunosuppressed because of other medical conditions.”

The Troup County School System reported 90 positive COVID cases among students on Friday and 29 positive COVID cases among adults. The school system additionally reported 324 students who are being quarantined for possible exposure at school or outside of the school.

The Omicron wave in general has infected more people than any other previous wave, including Delta, Horlander said. However, a lower percentage of people have been getting sick to the point of hospitalization. He said people more likely to be infected are those who are overweight and unvaccinated.

“I’m seeing a lot of overweight people who haven’t been vaccinated getting really sick with COVID,” he said. “If they’re vaccinated, I know, even if they come into the hospital, there is a very good chance that they won’t get put on a ventilator.”

To continue combating COVID, Horlander reminds residents to continue following recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, such as social distancing and hand washing.

He also recommends using N-95 or other specific medical masks in lieu of cloth ones.

“You also have to consider your eyes,” he said. “If you’re wearing a mask, you will be protected from getting [the virus] in your lungs. But you can still catch it if gets in any other mucous membrane you have, like your eyes.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: Numbers from the Department of Public Health are constantly updated for accuracy and may have changed slightly compared to previous reporting.