BLAIRSVILLE, Ga – As the Delta Variant spreads in Union County and Georgia, confirmed cases in children continue to outpace previous COVID-19 strains.

On August 12, Union County reported a total of 245 confirmed cases in the 0 to 22 age group. One week later, the Department of Public Health recorded 21 new cases for the age range. For comparison, the case change from the August 6 report to August 13 was nine.

Union County from July 31 to August 13 documented 59 new cases total and has recorded 2,361 cases since last year.

The Delta Variant is highly contagious. Health professionals have compared its transmission rate to chickenpox spread. The number of COVID-19 cases in children jumped over 1,100 percent when Delta hit Georgia.

“In a completely unmitigated environment—where no one is vaccinated or wearing masks—it’s estimated that the average person infected with the original coronavirus strain will infect 2.5 other people,” Dr. F. Perry Wilson, a Yale Medicine epidemiologist, says. “In the same environment, Delta would spread from one person to maybe 3.5 or 4 other people.”

Several schools started back at the beginning of August, and the virus spread is evident. Union County Primary had to close its building for this week because too many teachers were out sick. UCS 2021-2022 school year started on August 12. The previous week Towns County Elementary closed for the same reason too many ill staff.

The Department of Public Health (DPH) keeps track of COVID-19 in children and release school-age data each week. A breakdown of Union County’s 14-day case rate for children indicated significant increases in the school-age group.

8/12 Union County Case Report

• 0-4 – 1 case
• 5-17 – 9 cases
• 18-22 – 3 cases
• 23+ – 73 cases

8/20 Union County Case Report

• 0-4 – 5 cases (+4)
• 5-17 – 17 cases (+8)
• 18-22 – 8 cases (+5)
• 23+ – 115 cases (+42)

While DPH doesn’t provide a county-by-county breakdown of hospitalizations, it includes statewide data on the topics. These reports come out every week and cover two weeks of data.

DPH COVID-19 in Children graph

Emergency room visits related to COVID-19 in children are spiking along with respiratory-related visits. However, hospitalizations appear to have taken a turn downward in most age groups.

Statewide the 5-17 age range is facing the most significant spike in the school-age report. When broken down, 5-10 and 14-17 are experiencing a laboratory higher case rate than 11-13. It’s unclear why from the information provided by the DPH.

Union County Schools COVID-19 Procedures

Union County Schools have procedures regarding positive cases, close contact, quarantine, isolation, and seating charts to try and keep its students safe.

A close contact student, who’s within three feet of a positive case, must quarantine for five days.

Positive students must quarantine for ten days and may return to school after symptoms end or 24 hours without a fever or fever-reducing medicine.

None of these students can participate in extracurricular, after-hours, or athletic activities.

Potentially exposed employees can still work under the essential worker status. If they exhibit any COVID-19 related symptoms, they must inform their supervisor, and essential worker status will be revoked. These individuals must quarantine for ten days from the onset of symptoms.

For the time being, the parents can decide on the necessity of a mask. On Friday, August 20, Assistant Superintendent Dr. David Murphy told FYN that a mask mandate is a “diametrically opposed issue. Families have determined what they feel is best for them. We believe that wearing a mask is the parent/student’s right to choose.”

Additionally, Murphy explained the elementary, middle, high, and Woody Gap Schools aren’t experiencing the same staff absenteeism as the primary school.

COVID-19 K-12 breakdown from DPH

The Primary had nearly four times the percentage of teachers absent than its closest school by comparison. They simply didn’t have enough staff to operate the building effectively.

Pfizer vaccine was fully approved for individuals who are 16 and older on Monday, August 23. Children 12 and older can also receive a vaccine under emergency use authorization.

Children younger than 12 haven’t been cleared to take the vaccine yet. It’s currently undergoing testing.