Phoebe sees declining COVID numbers, with 24 hospitalized in Albany

ALBANY — COVID-19 seems to have taken us all on a ride on a storm-tossed ocean for more than two years, with high waves of climbing cases and troughs when numbers go down. And there likely is more rough water ahead.

The latest wave, which was nowhere near as big as previous peaks, seems to be receding.

The medical community has expressed concern about what could happen with students returning to school and the cooler months when people tend to be more cooped up indoors.

The recent increases in cases have followed holidays when people tend to gather, and two of the biggest of those are on the horizon.

But as of Thursday, things were looking better locally. There were 24 patients at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany and three each at Phoebe facilities in Americus and Sylvester, said Dr. James Black, Phoebe’s director of emergency medicine.

Two of those were patients in intensive care who were on ventilators, so the disease still has the potential to make some individuals very ill.

“We had 44 last week,” Black said. “It’s down to 30. This one (spike) was not as severe as the previous one, especially for the vaccinated people.”

The latest spike followed the July 4 weekend, and the medical community is resigned that this will be a pattern for at least the foreseeable future.

“I think we should be prepared for that to be the case,” the physician said. “We don’t expect it to go away.”

The return of students to schools and colleges does not seem to have had an impact so far on causing a large spread of COVID, Black said.

For those who exhibit symptoms, he advised determining whether the condition is due to a case of the novel coronavirus. COVID can present with symptoms similar to a cold or flu or with gastrointestinal ailments.

Individuals who are at high risk due to underlying health conditions should seek medical assistance as soon as possible because effective antiviral medications work best when taken early in the course of the illness.

“I think at the onset of symptoms, they need to go in and get a test or do a home test,” Black said.

While the medical advice seems to be getting old with repetition, it’s still effective, he said. Those include practicing good hygiene like hand-washing and social distancing and wearing face masks.

The number of people who wear masks in public seems to rise as case numbers increase and then drops when the wave breaks and numbers go down.

Some people follow that pattern, while others seem to wear face masks pretty much all the time, Black said.

“I think we should continue to do the things that we’ve been doing and help prevent the spread of disease,” he said.

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