COVID-19 surges through Rabun County

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Local death toll reaches 25, 197 new cases in the past week

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  • COVID-19 Local Update
    COVID-19 Local Update
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CLAYTON—Rabun County hit a deadly stretch of COVID-19 fatalities to begin the new year, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health (GDPH).

The disease killed one local resident per day during the period Jan. 5-11, state records indicate.

As of Monday, 25 deaths in Rabun County have been attributed to COVID-19.

The disease continued to spread rapidly locally.

There were 192 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Rabun over the past two weeks, bringing the total number of reported cases to 1,189, a rate of 7,000 cases per 100,000 population.

In addition, the number of test results being returned as positive for COVID-19 continues to show significant community spread.

On Tuesday, GDPH reported the percentage of positive test results at 29 percent. That number has been as high as 50 percent in the past week.

Health officials define community spread as the rate at which the population is passing along the virus to each other.

Anything above five percent is considered community spread.

Statewide, 10,444 residents had died of COVID-19 as of Tuesday, GDPH reported. 

Over a half-million cases have been reported in Georgia.