Fourth Wave: Dougherty Emergency Management re-engages with public

ALBANY — The Dougherty County Emergency Management Agency has re-opened its Emergency Operations Center and will resume other functions in the wake of a massive resurgence of COVID-19.

The more virulent delta variant of the novel coronavirus is behind the surge that has caused hospitalizations to spike in recent weeks after numbers had stabilized during the spring and early summer.

In addition to the re-opening of the emergency center at noon Monday, officials will resume holding weekly task force meetings as well as Friday news conferences to provide information to residents.

“We will be taking calls from the public” at the center, Albany Fire Chief Cedric Scott, who serves as county emergency management director, notified Dougherty County Commissioners during a Monday commission work session.

The weekly news conferences will provide the latest information available from Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital and public health and elected officials, Scott said during an interview following the meeting.

“The concern is there to get consistent information in front of the community,” he said of what is being referred to as the fourth wave of the virus. “The way we have done that is through our press conferences with our health professions and elected leadership.”

The news conferences have drawn a steady viewership, particularly during the initial wave of the disease and during times when it has spiked in the region. They were discontinued when the level of spread dropped earlier this year.

News releases made available to the public using information from the live news conferences also have been popular, Scott said.

“The spinoff is there is a written release, and the press conferences are recorded so people can watch them later,” he said.

Dougherty County Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas expressed frustration that after battling its way through the initial wave of the pandemic, when it was No. 3 in the world in terms of impact from the virus, the county lags behind the state’s vaccination rate.

“I think the message is pretty simple: Get vaccinated,” he said during a telephone interview Monday afternoon.

Evidence shows that people who have been vaccinated have much lower odds of being sickened by the delta variant, and that those who do fall ill have better outcomes than patients who have not been vaccinated, Cohilas said.

“The vast majority of people are unvaccinated,” the commission chairman said of those who are currently hospitalized. “This strain, whatever you want to call it, is causing more pain, more suffering, to younger people than what we dealt with last year.”

Dougherty County Emergency Medical Services Director Sam Allen confirmed that assessment.

Patients transported in recent weeks have been younger than the mostly elderly contingent that was sickened in the first wave of the virus, he said. Paramedics are now treating patients in their 40s and 50s, and even some in their young 20s.

The Emergency Operations Center will be available to answer questions from the public daily from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at (229) 302-1900. Additional information is available on the Facebook pages of the city of Albany and Dougherty County, which also provide a live feed to the weekly news conferences held at 10 a.m.

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