Effingham County Adds 44 New Cases of COVID-19 Wednesday

Wednesday evening, Effingham County's health department reported an additional 44 cases of COVID-19. Officials say they are still in the process of performing contact tracing on the new cases, to determine if they had contact with known COVID-19 positive cases. Additionally, the graphic the department creates to show daily metrics will be delayed due to the large number of new cases.

The positive case demographics are as follows:

In the release, the health department states they are monitoring 300 people in isolation and at least 600 in quarantine, and that the impact of COVID-19 is having a significant impact on the department's resources. They're asking the community for patience, and stress they are returning calls as soon as possible.

Officials continue to urge the community to follow safety guidelines to prevent schools and businesses from closing. This includes avoiding large gatherings, wearing face masks, and practicing social distancing.