VALDOSTA – Lowndes County passed 8,400 COVID-19 cases Tuesday, officially reporting 8,426 cases since the start of the pandemic, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.

This is an increase of more than 100 from Monday’s report.

Lowndes County has reported no additional virus-related deaths since last week; 150 Lowndes deaths have been reported since the start of the pandemic.

There have been 5,972 antigen positive cases reported in Lowndes and 70 probable deaths since the pandemic began, according to the report.

South Georgia Medical Center reported another increase in the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 early this week.

SGMC reported having 59 coronavirus patients hospitalized Tuesday. The hospital reported no new virus-related deaths, with the number staying at 298 since the start of the pandemic.

SGMC has released 1,697 virus patients since the start of the pandemic.

SGMC reported more than 36,000 vaccinations, showing 36,334 vaccines administered.

SGMC issues COVID-19 reports Monday through Friday.

The hospital is hosting a COVID-19 vaccination drive-thru event at its Smith Northview Campus at at 4280 N. Valdosta Road on Saturday, Aug. 7 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. 

SGMC Director of Infection Prevention Scarlett Rivera said the Delta variant is here and is very transmissible.

“Although we have already administered more than 36,000 vaccinations since December of 2020, Lowndes county is still only at 27 percent fully vaccinated,” Rivera said. “With schools starting back, we want to make it as easy as possible for people to get vaccinated before the fall.”

The vaccination is the best line of defense against COVID-19 and its variants, Rivera said, so SGMC is encouraging everyone to get it to protect themselves and others.

SGMC will administer the Pfizer vaccine and people can pre-register online at sgmc.org or call 229-433-1068. Pre-registry is not necessary.