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In March or April of 2020, if we’d written that there were 13 new cases of COVID-19 in Troup County, all of us would’ve panicked a little on the inside.

Times were different then, as we were learning more about this virus that we’d never dealt with before. According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, there were 13 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday, which in the perspective we have now, is actually encouraging news.

That’s the lowest amount in one day in about two months, as we can continue to see COVID-19 numbers drop locally and around the country.

Over the weekend, the United States finally saw its rolling seven-day average of new cases under 100,000 per day for the first time since November.

Georgia had 1,736 new cases on Monday and is down to a rolling, seven-day average of under 2,500 new cases a day. Don’t get us wrong — that’s still a lot of people being infected with this deadly virus. But, it’s also a lot less than the 7,500 that were being infected every day during the holiday season.

Preventative measures — wearing masks, social distancing and getting vaccinated — are working.

Don’t lose focus on doing all of the right things when out in public.

Yes, almost a year in, wearing a mask is getting a lot more annoying than we ever thought it would. But its a small ask to ensure that our loved ones stay safe.

People are still getting really sick, and some are dying, from COVID-19. It hasn’t gotten away.

But the news is improving. Do your part to ensure it keeps improving.