State of emergency issued in Henry County

The Henry County Board of Commissioners issued a local state of emergency at its Aug. 3 regular meeting in response to recent reports regarding the number of COVID-19 cases in the county. A representative of the Georgia District 4 Department of Public Health stated that 35 percent of county residents are currently vaccinated, and that the Delta variant is more contagious and more aggressive than previous variants.

It was also stated that 98 percent of COVID deaths in Georgia were unvaccinated people. County emergency management director Don Ash reported that Piedmont Henry Hospital had 72 COVID patients as of Aug. 2 in contrast to 12 in the hospital as of July 1. Information: henrycounty-ga.com.