It may be a case of déjà vu as the New Year rings in, with yet another spike in COVID cases seen across the county. Just as what occurred at the start of 2021, the year 2022 is seeing a jump in cases, mostly attributed to the Omicron variant.

As of Wednesday, December 29, DeKalb County has recorded 4,480 cases of COVID-19, with 4,321 having recovered or inactive. There are currently 159 active cases, with 28 new cases reported on Tuesday alone. So far, there have been 84 deaths attributed to the virus, with currently 125 hospitalized.

The trend locally, as with the Delta variant, is younger individuals are becoming infected. The highest infection rates in DeKalb are among the 11-20 year-old age group, followed by the 21-30 age group.

Over the past seven days reported DeKalb has averaged 28.3 COVID test performed per day, with 21.1 percent coming out positive.

Symptoms of the Omicron variant are differing from other forms of COVID, with cough, congestion, runny nose, and fatigue as prominent symptoms, but without the previous symptom of losing taste or smell.

Omicron is also reportedly spreading more quickly, but perhaps less severe. Researchers in South Africa, where the variant is spreading quickly, say it may cause less serious COVID cases than other forms of the virus, but can still be deadly. Even so, the Delta variant is still being widely spread with severe symptoms.

Surrounding counties are also beginning to see a surge in cases as well. Warren County has seen a total of 9,102 cases as of December 29 data, with 8,827 having recovered. They have seen 150 deaths from the virus, with 196 currently hospitalized. Warren reported 29 new cases on December 27 and 24 new cases the following day.

Putnam County is seeing a big spike in cases with 101 new cases on December 28 alone. They have had a total of 17,830 cases with 17,178 recovered. They have had 260 deaths to the virus, with 569 currently hospitalized.

Wilson County is also being hard hit with new cases. Wilson has had 29,614 total cases with 295 cases reported on December 28. They have 28,024 recovered or inactive cases, with 404 deaths, and 812 hospitalized. They currently have 1,590 active cases.

The biggest hit nearby county is Rutherford, who reported 461 new cases on December 28 alone. They have seen 67,523 total cases, with 64,601 recovered. Rutherford has also seen 723 deaths to COVID, with 1,488 currently hospitalized.

Officials say the best protection against COVID-19 and its variants is to be vaccinated, and if you have already been vaccinated to get the booster shot. As always, health officials urge the use of masks when in public places, and the practice of using hand sanitizer when possible.

Current vaccines are expected to protect against severe illness, hospitalizations, and deaths due to infection with the Omicron variant. However, breakthrough infections in people who are fully vaccinated are likely to occur. With other variants, like Delta, vaccines have remained effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalizations, and death. The recent emergence of Omicron further emphasizes the importance of vaccination and boosters.