ATLANTA — On Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci said he's confident that most states will reach a peak in the omicron surge over the next few weeks.
"What we would hope is that as we get into the next weeks to a month or so we'll see, throughout the entire country, the level of infection, get to below what I call that area of control. Control means you're not eliminating it, you're not eradicating it," explained Dr. Fauci.
Meanwhile, Georgia is already seeing cases level out statewide. Experts say reaching a peak in a surge means that the number of cases has begun to steady rather than continuing to increase, which also means a decline could be on the horizon. However, one local doctor says that doesn't mean you can throw caution to the wind.
“I do believe there’s a great chance the numbers will continue to improve...If people get a really casual attitude, then we can interrupt the decrease in cases, and it can start to go up," said Atlanta physician, Dr. Frita Fisher.
The local doctor added that what happens next all depends on our readiness.
"It’s always been about the prevention which is why we’ve been preaching so much about washing hands/ wearing masks. It’s important because if you prevent the virus from jumping body to body then you prevent that virus from mutating," added Dr. Fisher.
Dr. Fisher also says that while it's encouraging to see cases level off, that doesn't mean we won't see a surge and/or peak again.
“If we use the tools that we have learned, then it’s not likely we see another peak. But as long as we have people who are out here not paying attention to public health...then there’s a great chance the show is not over," said Dr. Fisher.
During the Delta surge, it took Georgia about 10 weeks to a hit a rate of low transmission following the peak. However, health officials say what is different about omicron is just how quickly we're reaching peaks compared to other variants. Georgia reached it's peak with the omicron surge in 44 days, compared to the more than 60 days it took with all of the previous surges.
As of Friday, Georgia's seven-day positivity rate is 28.7%. Experts say it needs to be under 5% to be considered manageable.