Thursday, November 19, 2020

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.

Every county in the Northeast Health District added at least two cases on Thursday, with Oconee County adding five and Clarke County adding 34. In both of the counties, the seven-day rolling average of added cases dropped slightly on Thursday.

The Northeast Health District also added 27 cases based on antigen tests, and the seven-day rolling average of added cases based on this diagnostic tool declined on Thursday to 23.3 from 26.3 on Wednesday.

Oconee County added two antigen cases, and Clarke County added six. The Department of Public Health began reporting these data only on Nov. 3.

Deaths

The Department of Public Health's added COVID-19 death was of a 63-year-old male in Madison County without a known chronic condition.

The Department of Public Health removed two deaths in the District previously listed as caused by the disease with the Thursday Daily Status Report. Across the state, it eliminated seven deaths.

The removed local deaths were of a 63-year-old male in Oconee County without a known chronic condition and of a 62-year-old male in Jackson County with a chronic condition.

The Oconee County death had been added on Nov. 10. The Jackson County death had been added on Nov. 12. Oconee County now has 33 deaths attributed to the disease, and Jackson county has 47.

With the net loss of a death, the seven-day rolling average of added deaths in the Northeast Health District dropped to 0.7 from 1.4 on Wednesday.

Hospitals, Long-Term Care Homes

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 (88) increased by two from the day before, that the number of ICU beds in use (62) increased by three from the day before, and that the number of adult ventilators in use (28) was the same as the day before.

The number of COVID-19 patients has been increasing going back to Oct. 10, while ICU Bed Use and Ventilator Use has been relatively flat during that period.

The Department of Community Health, in Thursday’s Long-Term Care Facility Report, listed two new COVID Positive Residents, both at Pruitthealth–Athens Heritage nursing home in Clarke County.

The Long-Term Care Facility Report also listed three new COVID-19 Positive Staff, one at High Shoals Health and Rehabilitation nursing home in Oconee County, one at Heardmont Health and Rehabilitation nursing home in Elbert County, and the third at Nancy Hart Nursing Center, also in Elbert County.

State Data

The Daily Status Report listed 2,735 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 with the release of the Daily Status Report on Thursday, and the seven-day rolling average of added cases based on the molecular tests increased to 2,398.3 on Thursday from 2,371.4 on Wednesday.

That rolling average has climbed back to its level as of Aug. 27.

The state also added 835 cases based on the antigen test, which generally is considered less reliable. The rolling average of added cases based on that test increased to 621.6 on Thursday from 582.3 on Wednesday.

The state added 40 deaths, and the seven-day rolling average of added deaths dropped to 27.4 on Thursday from 31.7 on Wednesday.

The Department of Public Health eliminated seven deaths that it previously had attributed to COVID-19 from its tally. One of those was as far back as March 28, and another was on April 27.

Thirty-three of those added deaths were in the last 14 days, and the seven-day rolling average of added deaths based on date of occurrence increased on Thursday, as it has the last three days.

The Department of Public Health also added four probable deaths. The seven-day rolling average of added probable deaths dropped from 8.0 on Wednesday to 7.9 on Thursday.

Across the state on Thursday, the Georgia Hospital Association (GHA) and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) reported that the number of COVID-19 patients (1,763) increased from the day before, the number of ICU beds in use (2,406) increased from the day before, and the number of adult ventilators in use (797) was the same as the day before.

The Department of Community Health on Thursday listed 661 long-term care facilities across the state with COVID-19 among its residents and/or staff, up from 659 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 in the main chart. The inserted chart shows data for Region E of GEMA, which includes the 10 counties in 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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