Thursday, October 22, 2020

Northeast Health District Adds 148 New COVID-19 Cases, Largest Number Added On Single Day For More Than A Month

***Death At Elbert County Nursing Home***

The Northeast Health District added 148 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, the largest number added in a single day since Sept. 16, and the seven-day rolling average of added cases is the highest it has been since Sept. 22. That rolling average has increased each of the last five days.

The regional trend mirrors that of the state, where the 1,824 new cases added on Thursday is the highest since Sept. 20, and the seven-day rolling average of added cases is the highest since Sept. 26. That rolling average has increased in each of the last three days.

The Northeast Health District did not add any new deaths with the release of the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report on Thursday, the second day in a row that the Report listed no new deaths in the region.

The rolling average of added deaths in the Northeast Health District dropped to 1.3 on Thursday from 1.4 on Wednesday. Across the state, the Daily Status Report listed 27 new deaths from the corona virus, and the seven-day rolling average of added deaths increased to 34.4 from 33.9 on Wednesday.

The Department of Community Health reported one new death in the Northeast Health District in its Thursday Long-Term Care Facility Report. The death was at Heardmont Health and Rehabilitation nursing home in Elbert County.

The Department of Public Health distributes the Department of Community Health report but does not include deaths from the Department of Community Health report in the Daily Status Report.

Every county in the 10-county Northeast Health District added at least three cases. Oconee County added five and Clarke County added 28. The seven-day rolling average of added cases in Oconee County increased slightly on Thursday and decreased in Clarke County.

The seven-day rolling average of added cases in the Northeast Health District increased from 89.0 on Wednesday to 96.0 on Thursday.

The Department of Community Health reported four additional cases of COVID-19 among staff at long-term care facilities in the Northeast Health District. All four were at The Gardens of Social Circle II personal care home in Walton County.

Area hospitals have not yet felt the pressure of the increased number of COVID-19 cases.

The Georgia Hospital Association (GHA) and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) reported on Thursday that the number of COVID-19 patients at area hospitals (50) increased by one from the day before, that the number of ICU beds in use (62) decreased by two from the day before, and that the number of adult ventilators in use (31) increased by three from the day before.

State Data

Across the state, with the addition of the 1,824 new cases, the seven day rolling average of added cases increased from 1,347.4 on Wednesday to 1,367.1 on Thursday.

The state added 29,219 new molecular tests on Thursday, and the positivity rate was 7.8 percent. The seven-day rolling average of that statistic increased from 6.5 percent on Wednesday to 6.9 percent on Thursday.

Sixteen of the 27 new deaths from the corona virus across the state listed in the Daily Status Report were in the last 14 days. The seven-day rolling average of added deaths increased to 34.4 from 33.9 on Wednesday, and it had increased on Wednesday as well.

The seven-day rolling average of added deaths dated by occurrence had increased on Wednesday over Tuesday but was stable on Thursday.

The Department of Public Health made a lot of internal changes in its archives of deaths on Thursday, with at least 10 cases redated and two eliminated entirely. One of the new or moved deaths was dated as occurring as far back as July 13.

Across the state, the Georgia Hospital Association (GHA) and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) reported on Thursday that the number of COVID-19 patients (1,351) increased from the day before, the number of ICU beds in use (2,393) increased from the day before, and the number of adult ventilators in use (876) increased from the day before.

The number of COVID-19 patients is the best indicator of the impact of the increase in cases on hospitals, and that number has now increased in each of the last four days.

The Department of Community Health listed 637 long-term care facilities on Thursday with COVID-19 cases among their residents and/or staff, the same as on Wednesday.

Charts

All of the 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 Thursday.

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.

Chart 3 shows data for Oconee and Clarke counties and, in the insert, data from the Georgia Hospital Association for Region E of GEMA. That Region includes the 10 counties of the Northeast Health District plus Franklin and Hart counties.

Charts 4 and 5 show data for the entire state of Georgia.

Click on any of the charts to enlarge it.

Chart 1

Chart 2

Chart 3

Chart 4

Chart 5

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