Chattooga County saw 35 new COVID-19 cases over the past week, according to numbers released on Wednesday from the Georgia Department of Public Health.  Throughout the Northwest Georgia region, there were two deaths reported – one in Floyd County and one in Bartow County.  Overall the Northwest Georgia region has the highest number of new cases reported in the state at 361.  That number is the highest it has been in the last eleven months.  Dr. Gary Voccio, Health Director for the Georgia Department of Public Health’s Northwest Health District, said recently that the recent increase in COVID-19 cases is believed to be from the EG.5 variant.