Tallapoosa County sets COVID record, 1% of residents positive since Christmas
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As of 11:15 a.m. Monday, the drive-thru COVID-19 testing line at Russell Medical Center exceeded 60 vehicles, wrapping around the urgent care center on three sides and nearly spilling into Elkahatchee Road.

 Jake Arthur / The Outlook

One in 100 Tallapoosa County residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since Christmas, with the county recording new cases at the fastest rate since the coronavirus pandemic began.

From Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, the most recent week of Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) data, 402 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Tallapoosa County. The omicron variant has wasted no time in beating the delta variant's previous record, vaulting the average daily caseload to 57 new cases per day as of Saturday, up from 12 the previous week.