More Georgians are contracting COVID than ever before. But is omicron slowing down?

More Georgians are contracting COVID-19 than ever before, but Middle Georgia health experts believe omicron may have reached its peak.

Stephen Daugherty, the CEO for Piedmont’s Macon hospitals, said his hospitals’ COVID patient totals have peaked in the upper 80s and are holding steady, a good sign that the wave might be slowing in Middle Georgia.

Daughtery added omicron has been less severe and resulted in fewer hospitalizations than previous coronavirus waves, despite how widespread it is.

“With the prior surges, our length of stay for COVID admissions was 10-plus days. With this one, we are seeing the length of stays that are four to five days,” Daugherty said. “Maybe that’s the light at the end of the tunnel is omicron, we have not seen the same mortality. I think that gives us in health care hope that we are nearing the end of the pandemic phase and entering the endemic phase of this virus.”

In some of the first cities to experience the omicron variant like Cleveland, Newark and Washington, D.C. case reports have started to decline rapidly. There are also early signs of cases hitting plateaus in places like Chicago and New York. it is possible omicron cases in Middle Georgia are plateauing despite the recent spikes in hospitalizations.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said in an ABC interview Sunday “It is much more relevant to focus on the hospitalizations as opposed to the total number of cases.” Fauci added many omicron infections are causing few or no symptoms.

Public health officials don’t know the true impact of omicron yet, however, as deaths and hospitalizations follow spikes in infections.

Daugherty said the nearly two-year-old pandemic continues to take a toll on those in the health care profession. One of the hardest parts of the omicron wave has been staff availability as more hospital workers contracted COVID-19 this time around.

He said the lack of fear in the community has led to more people not following the CDC guidelines put in place. This attitude is one that is hard to see for those on the frontlines seeing the effects of the virus on a daily basis.

“I think for them it is a little frustrating because they are seeing the other side of it. Every one of these surges puts more of a strain on the system,” Daugherty said. “The biggest thing is the mental and physical toll it is taking on our staff. We are seeing that with people leaving the profession. Not just nursing but respiratory therapy, lab. It is hitting all parts of the hospital.”

Daugherty said the community can help the strain on the hospital by doing a few simple things. Social distancing and most importantly getting the vaccine, as well as only using the emergency room in the case of a real emergency. With COVID-19, he urges people to treat it like the flu unless the symptoms begin to worsen as this wave has seen fewer upper respiratory issues and more cases involving fever, headaches and diarrhea.

In addition to following the guidelines, Daugherty asks that Middle Georgia residents consider giving blood.

“Right now we need people to donate blood. Go to the nearest Red Cross blood center if you are otherwise healthy,’ he said. “Nationally, there is a blood crisis. It is all related to COVID. Normal donors are sick or are staying away. So for those who are otherwise healthy, we need their help in replenishing the blood supply not only locally but nationally.”

Latest numbers in Middle Georgia

This story was originally published January 20, 2022 at 3:06 PM.