Daily Status Report For Northeast Health District Lists 143 New COVID-19 Cases And Increased Test Positivity

***COVID Patient Numbers Increase At Area Hospitals***

The Northeast Health District added 120 confirmed COVID-19 cases based on molecular tests and 23 cases based on the rapid antigen test in the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report on Monday.

For the second day in a row, the 10-county District did not add any deaths attributed to the novel corona virus in the Daily Status Report.

The Department of Community Health, however, in it Long-Term Care Facility Report on Monday, listed a death of a resident of High Shoals Health and Rehabilitation nursing home, 3450 New High Shoals Road in the west of Oconee County.

Northeast Health District Adds 107 Confirmed COVID-19 Cases But No Deaths In Sunday Department Of Public Health Report

***Hispanics Over-Represented In Cases In Oconee, Clarke Counties***

The Northeast Health District added 107 confirmed COVID-19 cases based on molecular tests with release of the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report on Sunday. The Daily Status Report listed no new confirmed deaths attributed to the disease.

The seven-day rolling average of added cases in the District increased to 135.9 on Sunday from 132.3 on Saturday.

Every county in the 10-county District added at least one case. Oconee County added 12 cases and Clarke County added 16. In both counties, the seven-day rolling average of added cases increased on Sunday from Saturday.

Daily Status Report Lists One COVID-19 Death And 162 New Cases In Northeast Health District

***Demographic Analysis Shows Majority Of Clarke Cases Aged 18-29***

The Northeast Health District added a death from COVID-19 on Saturday and 162 new cases of the disease as the Department of Public Health released is Daily Status Report.

The death was of a female in Walton County without a chronic condition identified as 90 or more years of age. The death brings to 77 the number attributed to COVID-19 in Walton County and to 351 the number of deaths from the disease in the 10-County Northeast Health District.

Daily Status Report For Northeast Health District Lists Two COVID-19 Deaths,153 New Cases Of Disease

***Labor Department Data Show Signs of Economic Recovery***

The Northeast Health District added two deaths attributed to COVID-19 with the release of the Friday Daily Status Report, 123 confirmed cases of the disease based on molecular testing, and 30 cases identified through antigen tests.

The deaths were of a 69-year-old male in Barrow County without a chronic condition and of a 78-year-old male in Walton County, also without a chronic condition. The death brings to 57 the number in Barrow County from the disease, to 76 the number in Walton County, and to 350 the number in the Northeast Health District.

Northeast Health District Adds 227 New COVID-19 Cases With Release Of Thursday Department Of Public Health Report

***No New Deaths Attributed to Disease Reported***

The Northeast Health District added 188 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 based on molecular testing on Thursday, the largest number the 10-county District has added since Sept. 15–and an additional 39 cases based on rapid antigen tests.

The seven-day rolling average of added confirmed cases in the Department of Public Health Daily Status report increased from 133.3 on Wednesday to 137.4 on Thursday. The last time the seven-day rolling average was that high in the District was on Sept. 18.

Daily Status Report Lists Five COVID-19 Deaths and 189 New COVID-19 Cases In Northeast Health District

***One Confirmed And One Probable COVID Death In Clarke***

The Northeast Health District added five deaths attributed to COVID-19 with the release of the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report on Wednesday, 138 confirmed COVID-19 cases based on molecular tests, and 51 cases based on antigen rapid tests.

The seven-day rolling average of added deaths increased from 1.4 deaths per day on Tuesday to 1.6 on Wednesday, the seven-day rolling average of added cases based on the molecular test increased from 129.7 to 133.3, and the seven-day rolling average of added antigen cases dropped from 49.1 to 46.9.

Northeast Health District Adds 181 COVID-19 Cases And Three Deaths From Disease

***Clarke County Has Death In Personal Care Home***

The Northeast Health District added 143 confirmed COVID-19 cases on Tuesday based on molecular testing and 38 cases based on rapid antigen tests. It also added three deaths from the disease.

One of the deaths was listed in the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report and was of an 89-year-old male in Jackson County with a chronic condition.

Northeast Health District Adds Five COVID-19 Deaths In Monday Health Department Reports, Two Of Those In Clarke County

***Area Hospitals Show Increased Demands From COVID-19 Spread***

The Department of Public Health and the Department of Community Health reported five deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the Northeast Health District on Monday, two of them in Clarke County.

The Department of Public Health also reported 107 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the 10- county Northeast Health District, pushing up the seven-day rolling average of added cases to 131.7 from 121.1 on Sunday. That rolling average has now increased each of the last seven days.

Area hospitals reported strain from the progression of the disease.

District Attorney Runoff Has Strong Partisan Characteristic Despite Lack Of A Republican Candidate

***Turnout Very Hard To Predict***

James Chafin said repeatedly in appearances during the campaign for District Attorney for the Western Judicial Circuit that he chose to run in the special election without a party label because he wanted to keep party politics out of the courtroom where the District Attorney operates.

Intentionally or not, his decision led to a campaign with strong partisan undertones that has spilled over into the runoff that will take place on Dec. 1 and for which early voting began on Monday morning.

Seven-Day Rolling Averages Of Added COVID-19 Cases In Northeast Health District Continue To Climb With Release Of Sunday Report

***No New Confirmed Deaths From Disease Listed***

The Northeast Health District added 82 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Sunday Department of Public Health Daily Status Report, and the seven-day rolling average of added cases increased for the sixth day in a row.

The confirmed cases are based on molecular tests, and the Daily Status Report subtracted four cases reported earlier based on the less reliable, rapid, antigen tests.

The Daily Status Report on Sunday did not report any new deaths attributed to the novel corona virus in the 10-county Northeast Health District.

Northeast Health District Adds 337 New COVID-19 Cases And Four Deaths From Disease, Resulting In Increases In Rolling Averages

***Deaths In Oconee And Clarke Counties***

The Northeast Health District added 163 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Saturday based on molecular tests and 174 cases based on antigen rapid tests as well as four deaths from the disease with the release of the Daily Status Report.

One of the added deaths was in Oconee County, and another was in Clarke County.

The seven-day rolling average of added confirmed cases based on the molecular test as well as added cases from the less reliable antigen tests increased, as did the rolling average of added deaths in the 10-county District.

Risk-Limiting Audit Moved Three Votes In Oconee County

***Hand Count Resulted In Changes For Three Absentee Ballots***

President Donald Trump gained one vote in Oconee County and Joseph Biden lost two votes as a result of the Risk-Limiting Audit Full Hand Count of the presidential vote completed locally on Monday.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger certified the results on Friday, and Gov. Brian Kemp announced he would sign the paperwork to allocate Georgia’s 16 Electoral College votes to Biden.

Trump has two days to demand yet another audit, this one conducted by machine, since he lost by less than a half percentage point. The final gap statewide was 12,284 votes, or 0.2 percentage points.

Northeast Health District Adds 209 COVID-19 Cases And One Death–In Oconee County–In Friday Department Of Public Health Report

***Oconee School Cases And Quarantines Down***

With the addition of 141 confirmed COVID-19 cases based on molecular tests, 68 cases based on antigen rapid tests, and one death, the seven-day rolling average of the three indicators of the disease increased in the Northeast Health District on Friday.

The death listed in the Friday Daily Status Report of the Department of Public Health was of a 76-year-old male with a chronic condition in Oconee County.

Rolling Average of Added Confirmed COVID-19 Cases In Northeast Health District Continues To Rise

***Daily Status Report Adds 186 Total Cases***

The Northeast Health District added 159 confirmed COVID-19 cases based on molecular tests, 27 cases based on antigen or rapid tests, and a death from the disease with the release of the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report on Thursday.

The 159 confirmed cases pushed up the seven-day rolling average of added cases based on the molecular test to 112.9 from 111.3 on Wednesday. The trend has been toward increased cases going back to Oct. 8.

Seven-Day Rolling Averages of Deaths From COVID-19 And Of Confirmed Cases Of Disease Increased In Northeast Health District

***UGA Reports Drop In Positive Tests***

The Department of Public Health listed four additional deaths from COVID-19 in the Northeast Health District with release of the Daily Status Report on Wednesday as well as 113 confirmed cases of the disease based on molecular tests and 27 cases based on rapid antigen tests.

The four deaths listed in the Wednesday Daily Status Report were of a 90-plus-year-old female in Clarke County without a chronic condition, of an 81-year-old male in Elbert County without a chronic condition, of a 77-year-old female in Jackson County with a chronic condition, and of a 90-plus-year-old male in Morgan County without a chronic condition.

Northeast Health District Adds Six COVID-19 Deaths In Long-Term Care Facilities And 211 COVID-19 Cases

***COVID-19 Patients At Area Hospitals Increase***

The Department of Community Health reported six new COVID-19 deaths in long-term care facilities in the Northeast Health District on Tuesday, the largest number of new deaths listed in a single day in the Department’s Long-Term Care Facility Report since the end of May.

The Department of Public Health added 157 cases of COVID-19 confirmed via molecular tests in its Daily Status Report on Tuesday, the largest number of added cases based on this test since September 16.

Across the state, the Georgia Department of Public Health listed 3,603 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, the highest number reported since Aug. 12.

Department of Public Health Lists 36 COVID-19 Cases In Monday Report; Department Of Community Health Lists Two Deaths

***Disease Outbreak At Elbert County Personal Care Home***

The Northeast Health District added 33 COVID-19 cases confirmed by molecular tests on Monday and three positive cases based on antigen tests, according to the Department of Public Health. The Department did not list any deaths in the Monday Daily Status Report.

The Department of Community Health on Monday, however, reported a massive outbreak of COVID-19 at Magnolia Estates personal care home in Elberton in Elbert County that included two deaths.

The Long-Term Care Facility Report of the Department of Community Health listed 29 COVID-19 Positive Residents at the Elberton personal care home that had not been listed in the Friday report–the most recent until Monday–and an increase from two to 18 COVID-19 Positive Staff.

Daily Status Report Lists 69 New COVID-19 Cases in Northeast Health District; Seven-Day Rolling Average Continues To Increase

***No New COVID-19 Deaths Reported***

The Daily Status Report of the Department of Public Health listed 69 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Northeast Health District on Sunday, and the seven-day rolling average of added cases increased for the fifth day in a row to 104.1 cases per day.

Sundays generally are a light reporting day, and Morgan and Greene counties did not add any cases, but each of the remaining eight counties in the Northeast Health District added at least one case.

Oconee County added two cases, and Clarke County added 13 cases. For both counties, the seven-day rolling average of added cases fell just slightly on Sunday.

Seven-Day Rolling Averages Of Added COVID-19 Cases Based On Molecular And On Antigen Tests Increase On Saturday

***One New Death Added In District***

The Northeast Health District added 125 COVID-19 cases confirmed by molecular tests, 27 cases based on antigen tests, and one death from the disease with the release of the Georgia Department of Public Health Daily Status Report on Saturday.

The 125 confirmed cases from the molecular tests pushed up the seven-day rolling average of added cases to 102.7 on Saturday from 99.9 on Friday.

Each of the 10 counties in the Northeast Health District added at least one case, with Oconee County adding three cases and Clarke County adding 36. The seven day rolling average of added cases dropped just slightly in Oconee County and increased by a small amount in Clarke County.

Northeast Health District Adds 168 COVID-19 Cases; Oconee County Schools Reports Large Increase In Active Cases, Quarantines

***No New Deaths From Disease In District***

The Northeast Health District added 134 new COVID-19 cases based on molecular tests in Friday’s Department of Public Health Daily Status Report, resulting in an increase in the rolling average of added cases per day to just less than 100 cases.

The Northeast Health District also added 34 cases resulting from positive antigen or rapid tests, and the seven-day rolling average of added cases based on that test declined to 45.0 from 51.3 on Thursday.

The Daily Status Report did not add any new deaths from the disease with the release of the Daily Status Report on Friday, and the seven-day rolling average of added deaths dropped from 2.4 on Thursday to 1.9 on Friday.

Oconee County Elections Officials Begin Manual Count Of Presidential Votes On Friday

***Using Paper Tally Sheets***

Oconee County Elections officials will begin at 9 a.m. on Friday at the Board of Elections and Registration Office at 10 Court Street in Watksinville what is being called a Risk Limiting Audit of the 25,399 votes cast in the county in the Nov. 3 election.

Cameras will record the work of the elections teams in the room where the audit is being conducted, according to Jennifer Stone, assistant director of Elections and Registration for the county.

Citizens can sit in the lobby of the Elections and Registration Office and watch the work of the auditors as it progresses.

Seven-Day Rolling Averages Of Added COVID-19 Cases And Deaths Increase In Northeast Health District

***Region Reflects Statewide Trends***

Reflecting trends across the state as a whole, the Northeast Health District added 148 confirmed COVID-19 cases based on molecular tests on Thursday, 48 cases based on antigen tests, and four deaths, pushing up the rolling averages in each of the measures of the disease.

The deaths were of a 61-year-old male in Barrow County without a chronic condition, a 62-year-old male in Jackson County with a chronic condition, a 71-year-old female in Walton County without a chronic condition, and an 84-year-old male in Walton County with a chronic condition.

Northeast Health District Adds 123 COVID-19 Cases And Two Deaths From Disease

***University Of Georgia Reports Small Increase In Positive Tests***

The Northeast Health District added 123 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, 88 of them confirmed via molecular tests and 35 identified with antigen rapid tests, and two deaths from the disease, according to Georgia Department of Public Health data.

The deaths listed by the Department of Public Health in the Daily Status Report were of an 80-year-old female in Greene County without a chronic condition and of a 90-plus-year-old male in Jackson County without a known chronic condition.

Northeast Health District Adds 241 COVID-19 Cases In Department Of Public Health Report, Two Deaths From Disease

***Area Hospitals Report Increase In ICU Use

The Northeast Health District added 105 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday based on molecular tests and 136 cases based on antigen tests as well as two deaths–both in Oconee County–attributed to the disease.

The Oconee County deaths were of a 63-year-old male without a known chronic condition and of an 89-year-old male without a known chronic condition.

The two deaths in Oconee County pushed the county’s number of deaths in the Daily Status Report to 34. The county is the third-highest in the 10-county Northeast Health District in deaths per population.

Majority Of Clarke County Voters Prefers To Be Represented In Atlanta By Democrats, And Oconee Voters Help Make Sure They Aren’t

***Oconee GetsTwo Representatives, One Senator***

The clear majority of voters in Athens-Clarke County would like to be represented in the Georgia General Assembly in January by Democrats.

Nearly six in 10 of Athens-Clarke voters cast a ballot for Democrat Mokah Jasmine Johnson in the 117th House District, and two-thirds voted for Democrat Jonathan Wallace in the 119th House District. Both of these Districts are only partially in Athens-Clarke County.

Northeast Health District Adds 64 Confirmed COVID-19 Cases On Monday And Two Deaths From Disease, One In Oconee

***Oconee Test Positivity At 6.6 Percent, Clarke At 5.5 Percent***

The Northeast Health District added 64 confirmed COVID-19 cases and two deaths from the disease with release of state health reports on Monday. One of the deaths was at a personal care home in Oconee County.

The Department of Community Health Long-Term Care Facility Report on Monday listed a death at Magnolia Estates of Oconee, 1641 Virgil Langford Road, south of SR 316. The new death brings to four the number attributed to COVID-19 at the home, which currently has 23 residents.

Northeast Health District Adds 103 Confirmed COVID Cases, One Death

***Only COVID Death In State In Madison County***

The Northeast Health District added 103 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with the release of the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report on Sunday and one death from the disease.

The death was of a 61-year-old male in Madison County without a known chronic condition.

The seven-day rolling average of added deaths increased to 1.9 in the District, which had not reported a death from the disease on Sunday of last week.

Northeast Health District Adds 119 Confirmed COVID-19 Cases And Three Deaths In Saturday Daily Status Report

***Increase In COVID-19 Cases At Area Hospitals For Seventh Day In Row***

The Northeast Health District added 119 confirmed COVID-19 cases with the Saturday release of the Daily Status Report of the Department of Public Health and three deaths attributed to the disease.

Most of the cases–105–were the result of molecular tests, with the remaining 14 the result of antigen tests.

Every county in the 10-county Northeast Health District except Oglethorpe added at least one case based on the molecular tests, with Oconee County adding four and Clarke county adding 33.

Department of Public Health Reports Four Deaths, 187 New COVID-19 Cases In Northeast Health District

***Oconee County Schools Reports Increase In Active Quarantines***

The Northeast Health District added four deaths from COVID-19, 109 confirmed cases of the disease based on molecular tests, and 78 cases based on antigen tests with the release of the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report on Friday.

The four deaths were of a female in Oconee County with chronic conditions listed as 90 plus years in age, a 68-year-old female in Barrow County without a chronic condition, an 82-year-old female in Barrow County without a known chronic condition, and a 78-year-old female in Elbert County with a chronic condition.

Oconee County now has 32 deaths attributed to COVID-19 and the third-highest death rate per population in the 10-county Northeast Health District. Barrow County has 54 deaths and Elbert has 13.

Oconee County Has Small Number Of Military And Overseas Ballots Remaining To Be Counted

***Deadline Is 5 p.m. On Friday***

As of late morning on Thursday, Oconee County had a total of 31 outstanding military and overseas ballots that had not been counted, according to Jennifer Stone, assistant director of Elections and Registration for the county.

Stone said the office will continue to accept mailed ballots from military and overseas voters until 5 p.m. on Friday. Ballots have to have been postmarked by Tuesday.

In addition, five voters who used Provisional Ballots on Tuesday have until 5 p.m. on Friday to provide needed information to allow the county to count those ballots.

Northeast Health District Added 133 New Cases Of COVID-19 And Two Deaths From Disease In Thursday Daily Status Report

***One Probable Death From Disease Reported In Clarke County***

The Northeast Health District added 102 new COVID-19 confirmed cases based on molecular tests and another 31 based on antigen tests, according to the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report on Thursday.

The Daily Status Report also listed two confirmed deaths from the disease and one probable death. That probable death was in Clarke County.

Based on the molecular tests, the seven-day rolling average of added cases in the District dropped to 88.4 from 89.6 on Wednesday.

Northeast Heath District Adds 87 Confirmed COVID-19 Cases, Pushing Up Rolling Average Again

***Two Deaths Added In Two State Reports***

The Northeast Health District added 87 confirmed cases of COVID-19 based on molecular tests on Wednesday, pushing up the seven-day rolling average of added cases for the third day in a row.

The 10-county District added one death from the disease in the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report.

The death was of a 67-year-old male from Walton County with a chronic condition.

Walton county now has 71 deaths from the disease in the Daily Status Report, the highest number in the Northeast Health District and the fourth highest in deaths per population, behind Greene County, Oglethorpe and Oconee County, in that order.

Oconee County Republicans Maintain Strong Advantage Across The Board In Tuesday Races

***Incumbent Legislators Hold Seats***

Oconee County Republicans gave little ground in the elections on Tuesday, holding at 70 percent of the vote in most of the national, state and local elections.

Donald Trump got 65.9 percent of the vote in the county, down from 67.4 four years ago. And Joseph Biden got 32.4 percent of the vote, up from the 28.0 percent of Hillary Clinton in 2016.

But Oconee County gave 72.2 percent of its vote to incumbent Republican Board of Commissioners Chair John Daniell, 71.6 percent of its vote to incumbent Republican Tim Burgess in the race for Post 4 on the Board of Education, and 70.4 to Republican Michael Ransom in the Board of Education Post 5 race.

Northeast Health District Adds 110 New Confirmed COVID-19 Cases In Daily Status Report And One Death

***Rolling Averages In District, Oconee And Clarke Increase***

The Northeast Health District added 110 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday in the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report, pushing up the seven-day rolling average of added cases, consistent with the overall trend in the state.

The District added one death, and the seven-day rolling average of added deaths remained unchanged at 1.6 deaths per day. The rolling average of added deaths increased at the state level.

The local death was of a 42-year-old male in Barrow County without a known chronic condition. The death was the 52nd in Barrow County. The District now has 311 deaths attributed to the disease.

Northeast Health District Adds 55 COVID-19 Confirmed Cases, One Death In Public Health Report On Monday

***Rolling Average Of Added Cases Increases***

The Northeast Health District added 55 new COVID-19 cases and one death attributed to the disease in the Monday Daily Status Report of the Department of Public Health.

The additions pushed up the seven-day rolling average of added cases, while the seven-day rolling average of deaths remained unchanged.

The death was of a 75-year-old female in Elbert County without a chronic condition.

Oconee County’s State Legislative Candidates Express Openness To Using Independent Body For Redistricting

***In WUGA Structured Interviews With Candidates***

All four of the candidates seeking to represent Oconee County in the Georgia House of Representatives when redistricting will be considered say they are open to turning the process over to an independent commission.

Marcus Wiedower, the Republican currently representing House District 119, gave the most guarded response, saying “If there is a push and acceptance for a third party, I’m fine with that.” Wiedower said “I want to stay, quite frankly, as far away from that subject as I can.”

Democrats, Republicans Seeking To Expand Base in Oconee County In High Turnout Election

***More Ballots Cast Already Than In 2016***

Former Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson told Oconee County Democrats in August of last year that they didn’t have to flip Oconee County for the party to be successful statewide on Tuesday.

Tomlinson, then a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination to face U.S. Sen. David Perdue, said Oconee County Democrats only needed to shave three or four percentage points off the 69.8 percent of the vote Gov. Brian Kemp received in Oconee County in 2016.

Former Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond told local Democrats two months later that Oconee County is an excellent opportunity for Democrats because its looks a lot like the Atlanta suburbs turning Democratic because of the influence of college-educated women.

Republicans Bill Cowsert, Houston Gaines, and Marcus Wiedower, representing Oconee County in the Georgia General Assembly, have made it clear at recent gatherings of the Oconee County Republican Party that they, too, are very much focused on how Republican Oconee County votes this election.

Northeast Health District Adds 65 COVID-19 Cases On Sunday, But No Deaths From Disease

***Rolling Averages of Added Cases Dropped Slightly In Oconee, Clarke Counties***

The Northeast Health District added 65 confirmed COVID-19 cases on Sunday and no deaths from the disease with the release of the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report.

Sundays are normally light reporting days, but the 65 new cases compared with 77 added last Sunday, and the seven-day rolling average of added cases dropped from 82.3 on Saturday to 80.6 on Sunday.

Every county in the 10-county Northeast Health District added at least one case. Oconee County added six cases and Clarke County added 17. The seven-day rolling average of added cases in both counties dropped slightly on Sunday from Saturday.