Monday, August 24, 2020

Northeast Health District Records COVID-19 Death For 11th Day In A Row

***Rolling Average Of Added Deaths Drops Slightly***

The Department of Public Health Daily Status Report listed a death from COVID-19 in Jackson County on Monday, the 11th day in a row that a death from the disease has been recorded for the 10-county Northeast Health District.

The Jackson County death, of a 62-year-old female with a chronic condition, was the third in three days for the county.

Because the Northeast Health District had recorded three deaths on Monday of last week, the seven-day rolling average of added deaths dropped to 2.4 on Monday from 2.7 on Sunday, but the average has been above two for eight days.

The Northeast Health District added 41 confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday, and the seven-day rolling average dropped from 120.4 on Sunday to 118.0 on Monday.

Morgan and Jackson counties did not add cases, but the other eight counties in the Northeast Health District did. Oconee County added five cases, and Clarke County added 20.

Other Reports

The Department of Community Health Long-Term Care Facility Report for Monday listed one additional COVID Positive Staff at each of two facilities, a nursing home in Elbert County and a personal care home in Greene County. The prior Long-Term Care Facility Report was on Friday.

The Long-Term Care Facility Report on Monday did not report any new deaths or cases among residents.

In the last three weeks, the 33 long-term care facilities in the Northeast Health District have seen an increase of 54 COVID Positive Residents, of 38 COVID Positive Staff, and of seven COVID Deaths. The District has 44 facilities covered by the Long-Term Care Facility Report.

During the same time period, the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report listed 44 COVID-19 deaths.

It is not possible to know how many of the seven COVID-19 deaths reported in the Long-Term Care Facility Report also are listed in the Daily Status Report, but it is clear that the Department of Public Health does not include all of the long-term care facility deaths in its report.

Area hospitals had 129 COVID-19 Patients on Monday, according to data from the Georgia Hospital Association and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, down from 133 on Sunday, 32 Adult Ventilators In Use, up from 26, and 65 ICU Beds In Use, up from 61 on Sunday.

Daniell Report

Oconee County Commission Chair John Daniell issued a statement on Monday, co-signed by other local governmental leaders, based on a Sunday “conference call update with Piedmont Athens Regional, St. Mary’s Hospital and other local healthcare providers.” 

“Our hospitals remain stable and able to care for our community,” according to the statement.

“Now six months into the fight against COVID-19, they also remain very busy and have been working nonstop for months on end,” the statement reads. “We must continue to support those on the frontlines as they lead our community through this challenging time.

“This remains a difficult situation for our hospitals and healthcare providers, and we’re extremely fortunate to have such an incredible medical community,” the group said.

“We discussed the influx of college students,” the statement continues. “To date, this has not had a significant impact, but we will need to continue to monitor closely over the coming weeks.”

The statement acknowledges the “increase in deaths locally over the past several days” but says the “deaths continue to largely impact elderly patients” and says “We must do what we can to protect our most vulnerable.”

Oconee County’s two most recent deaths were of 60-years-olds, and the death reported in Jackson County in the Monday Daily Status Report was of a 62-year-old.

The statement also was signed by Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz, Winterville Mayor Dodd Ferrelle, as well as state Senators Bill Cowsert and Frank Ginn and State Representatives Spencer Frye, Houston Gaines and Marcus Wiedower.

State Data

Across the state, according to the Monday Daily Status Report, 25 new deaths attributed to COVID-19 were recorded. The seven-day rolling average of added deaths remained unchanged at 63.4.

Of the deaths, only five occurred in the last 14 days. The Department of Public Health says it removed one death previously recorded for an unknown reason.

The Daily Status Report listed 2,337 new COVID-19 cases, and the seven-day average of added cases increased to 2,536.6 on Monday from 2,466 on Sunday.

The Department of Public Health reported on Monday that 33,297 new molecular tests for COVID-19 had been reported, and the seven-day rolling average of added tests increased to 25,068.4 on Monday from 23,801.6 on Sunday.

The percentage of molecular tests resulting in a positive verdict increased from 8.4 on Sunday to 14.7 on Monday.

The Department of Community Health reported COVID-19 among the residents and/or staff of 633 long-term care facilities, up from 630 on Friday. The state has 790 facilities covered by the report.

The Georgia Hospital Association and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency reported 2,350 COVID-19 Patients in hospitals across the state on Monday, down from 2,358 on Sunday, 1,118 adult ventilators in use, up from 1,110 on Sunday, and 2,479 ICU Beds in Use, down from 2,483 on Sunday.

Charts

Charts 1, 2, 4 and 5 below are based on data from the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report and have been updated based on data released at 2:50 p.m. on Monday.

Charts 1 and 2 are for the 10-county Northeast Health District, which includes Oconee and Clarke counties.

Charts 4 and 5 are for the entire state of Georgia.

Chart 3 is based on data taken from the Department of Community Long-Term Care Facility Report.

Data extracted from that report for the 10-county Northeast Health District are presented.

Chart 1

Chart 2

Chart 3

Chart 4

Chart 5
 

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