The Northeast Health District added 123 new COVID-19 cases in the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report on Monday, with Clarke County accounting for the vast majority.
The seven-day rolling average of added cases increased to 148.9 on Monday from 137.1 on Sunday. The 10-county Northeast Health District is bucking the statewide trend of decreasing cases.
Each county in the Northeast Health District contributed to the increase in cases, but the 74 cases in Clarke County were 60.2 percent of the total. Oconee County added a single case, as did Morgan and Oglethorpe counties.
The Department of Public Health did not list any new COVID-19 deaths in the Northeast Health District on Monday, the second day in a row that the Daily Status did not contain a death in the District.
The Department of Community Health, however, listed two COVID-19 deaths at University Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Athens-Clarke County in its Monday Long-Term Care Facility Report, bringing to eight the number of deaths from the disease at that facility.
Although the Department of Public Health assembles and distributes the facility report from the data gathered by the Department of Community Health, the Department of Public Health does not list those deaths at nursing and personal care homes in its Daily Status Report.
Last week the Department of Community Health Report also listed two deaths at Clarke County nursing homes that have not appeared in the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report.
The Long-Term Care Facility Report on Monday also listed an additional 11 COVID-19 Positive Residents at a nursing home in Elbert County and an additional one COVID-19 Positive Staff at The Oaks Athens Skilled Nursing in Athens-Clarke County.
The Georgia Hospital Association and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency on Monday reported that area hospitals had 101 COVID-19 patients, up from 100 on Sunday, 56 ICU Beds In Use, down from 58 on Sunday, and 27 ventilators in use, down from 29 on Sunday.
The Georgia Department of Revenue released its sales tax distributions on Monday showing the continuing negative impact of the pandemic on the local economy.
Tax Distributions
The Department of Revenue distributions released on Monday were for collections in July.
Oconee County had a decrease of 8.6 percent in Local Option Sales Tax revenue compared with the same month a year earlier, a drop of 4.4 percent in Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax revenue, and a drop of 4.3 percent in Education Local Option Sales Tax income.
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Clarke County had a decline of 5.1 percent in Local Option Sales Tax revenue compared with July in 2019, a 2.8 percent in Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax income, and a 3.1 percent in Education Local Option Sales Tax income.
All three taxes are 1 percent, but they have different exemptions, resulting in different income distributions.
Oconee County had seen big declines in the tax revenues in March, April, and May compared with those months a year earlier. Clarke County had large declines in March and April and smaller decreases in May.
In June, Oconee County had little change from the year earlier, while Clarke County actually experienced growth.
State Data
Across the state on Monday, the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report added 1,523 new COVID-19 cases, and the seven-day rolling average of added cases continued its decline, dropping from 2,222.0 on Sunday to 2,105.7 on Monday.
The drop in cases is associated with a decline in testing, as the seven-day rolling average of added molecular tests declined to 19,779.0 on Monday from 22,229.4 on Sunday.
The Department of Public Health reported that 10.9 percent of the tests reported on Monday produced a positive verdict, compared with 8.6 percent on Sunday. The 10.9 percent figure is the highest it has been since 14.7 percent was recorded last Sunday.
The Department of Public Health cautions that data used to compute these percentages are for molecular tests reported to it through its electronic report system only and not from all reporting sources.
Molecular (PCR) tests detect active virus and infections, the Department states. These tests are administered by collecting either nose, nose and throat, or throat specimens.
The Department of Public Health reported 28 deaths from COVID-19 in the Monday Daily Status Report, and the seven-day rolling average increased to 69.1 from 68.7 on Sunday.
Only five of those deaths occurred in the last 14 days, according to the Department of Public Health.
The Department of Community Health reported COVID-19 cases among residents and/or staff of 640 long-term care facilities in the state, up from 632 on Friday, when the last report was issued.
The Georgia Hospital Association and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency on Monday reported that hospitals across the state had 1,929 COVID-19 patients, down from 1,939 on Sunday, 2,389 ICU Beds In Use, down from 2,393 on Sunday, and 1,082 ventilators in use, up from 1,064 on Sunday.
Local Testing Data
Local testing data are now obtainable by moving a curser across the charts available on the Department of Public Health web site on a county-by-county basis.
On Saturday, the last day for which local data are shown, Oconee County had a positive test rate of 4.3 percent, down from 5.0 percent the day before, while Clarke County had a positivity rate of 10.5 percent, up from 9.8 percent on Friday.
Over the last month, Oconee County’s rate has varied widely, from 24.0 percent on Aug. 4 to 0.0 percent on Aug. 17, but it has averaged 9.4 percent. The daily average number of tests has been 52.1.
Clarke County’s rate has been more consistent and has averaged 9.9 percent. The daily average of tests has been 449.2.
It is not possible to know, given the data available publicly, what percentage of the tests and cases are linked to the University of Georgia.
The University states on its web site that when it “learns of positive cases, they are reported to the GDPH in a timely manner and in the county where individuals are currently located.” GDPH is for Georgia Department of Public Health.
Charts
All four charts below are based on data from the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report and have been updated to include data from the release of that report at 2:50 p.m. on Monday.
Charts 1 and 2 include data from the 10-county Northeast Health District of the Department of Public Health, which includes Oconee and Clarke counties.
Charts 3 and 4 show data for the entire state of Georgia.
Click on any of the charts to enlarge it.
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| Chart 1 |
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| Chart 2 |
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