The latest weekly data released by the health department shows a big increase in COVID cases and deaths in Hancock County.

Hancock Public Health is reporting 692 new cases and 14 new deaths for the week of December 31st through January 6th.

The number of new cases is more than double the number of new cases from the previous weekly reporting period.

The number of new deaths also doubled, from six in the previous weekly reporting period up to 14 in this reporting period.

New hospitalizations this reporting period stand at 16, a drop of two from the previous week.

Hancock County is averaging 98.9 new cases per day and cases per 100,000 is 721.8.

The COVID test positivity rate in the county is 17.93 percent.

48.5 percent of eligible residents are fully vaccinated.

Community transmission in Hancock County remains “high” as defined by the CDC.

935 Hancock County residents have been hospitalized with COVID since the beginning of the pandemic and 215 have died from it.