Sunday, December 13, 2020

Northeast Health District Adds 330 COVID-19 Cases In Daily Status Report; Area Hospitals Report ICU Bed Use Exceeds Normal Capacity

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

The Northeast Health District added 308 confirmed COVID-19 cases based on molecular tests, according to the Sunday Department of Public Health Daily Status Report, as well as 22 cases based on antigen tests. No new deaths from the disease were listed in the Report.

Based on the combined addition of 330 cases, the seven-day rolling average of added cases increased to 329.1, up from 295.1 average added cases on Saturday.

The state has been reporting antigen tests results only since Nov. 3, and the 329.1 is the highest rolling average since that time. The rolling average of 279.0 for molecular test cases is the highest ever reported.

Oconee County added 16 cases based on molecular tests and no cases based on antigen tests, and Clarke County added 59 cases based on molecular tests and three based on antigen tests.

The seven-day rolling average of added cases based on a combination of the two tests increased from 15.6 to 17.0 on Sunday in Oconee County and from 61.7 to 68.3 in Clarke County.

The seven-day rolling average of added deaths in the 10-county Northeast Health District was 1.6 on Sunday, down from 1.7 on Saturday.

The Daily Status Report listed two “probable deaths” from the disease, one in Jackson County and one in Madison County.

The Georgia Hospital Association (GHA) and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) reported on Sunday that the number of COVID-19 patients at area hospitals (144) remained the same as the day before, that the number of ICU beds in use (74) increased by six from the day before, and that the number of adult ventilators in use (28) decreased by two from the day before.

The usual capacity of ICU beds at area hospitals is 70, and seven extra beds were added to accommodate the demand, according to the Georgia Hospital Association report.

Area hospitals have gone above 70 ICU beds in use only once before during the pandemic, on July 30, when 74 beds ICU beds also were in use. (Data on ICU beds in use are only available back through July 1.)

State Data

Across the state, the Daily Status Report listed 4,336 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday based on molecular tests and 642 based on antigen tests. The seven-day rolling average of added cases based on both tests increased to 6,134.9 on Sunday from 5,721.7 on Saturday.

The Daily Status Report added only one death from COVID-19, and the seven-day rolling average of added deaths dropped to 34.4 on Sunday from 34.6 on Saturday.

The death that was added occurred on Nov. 25, according to a comparison of the data in the Daily Status Report.

The Daily Status Report added no cumulative “probable deaths” from the disease, meaning that the two added “probable deaths” in the Northeast Health District were offset by the removal of “probable deaths” elsewhere in the state.

Across the state, the Georgia Hospital Association (GHA) and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) reported on Sunday that the number of COVID-19 patients (2,866) increased from the day before, the number of ICU beds in use (2,498) increased from the day before, and the number of adult ventilators in use (858) decreased from the day before.

The number of COVID-19 patients is the highest it has been since Aug. 11.

The Department of Community Health does not produce its Long-Term Care Facility Report on the weekend.

Charts

All of the charts below except 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 Sunday.

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 only on the left and for District E of GEMA on the right. District E is made up of 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.

Chart 1
Chart 2
Chart 3
Chart 4
Chart 5

 

No comments: