The Georgia Department of Public Health added 10 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the 10-county Northeast Health District on Thursday, bringing the total number or cases in the region to 1,021 and producing a very slight increase in the seven-day rolling average of added cases to 17.9.
Barrow County again led the list of counties reporting increases, with six new cases. Oconee County, for the seventh day in a row, reported no new cases.
The county has put into place a series of precautions as early voting for the postponed June 9 Democratic and Republican primaries and the nonpartisan judicial races begins at 8 a.m. on Monday and runs through June 5.
A plexiglass screen has been installed at the Oconee County Board of Elections and Registration Office across from the Courthouse in downtown Watkinsville, separating office workers and voters to protect both from COVID-19 as the voting process begins.
After two days when the Department of Public Health added only three confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Northeast Health District, the Daily Status Report on Wednesday added 68 new cases, the largest number ever added in a single day in the region.
The second largest number added in the 10-county Northeast Health District was a week ago, underscoring the seemingly erratic but patterned nature of reporting of cases to the Department of Public Health.
The Northeast Health District added only two confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report for 1 p.m. on Tuesday, both in Barrow County, and the seven-day rolling average of confirmed cases in the 10-county region dropped to 15.1.
The seven-day rolling average of added cases in the Northeast Health District has declined in each of the last six days from 27.1 on May 6.
The Northeast Health District added only a single case of confirmed COVID-19 with the 1 p.m. Daily Status Report on Monday, but it added two deaths attributed to the disease, one in Barrow County and another in Walton County.
The Barrow County death was of an 80-year-old female with known chronic conditions, while the Walton County death was of a 93-year-old female with unknown chronic conditions.
Oconee County sheriff candidates James Hale and Jimmy Williamson said they didn’t want to get involved in a dispute between the School Board and the Board of Commissioners and would continue to provide deputies to direct traffic at school entrances if elected and asked to do so.
At the same time, they said that having deputies in the roadway is dangerous and that they are in favor of road infrastructure changes, including roundabouts, that remove the deputies from the school entrances.
The Department of Public Health added 16 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the 10-county Northeast Health District with its noon Daily Status Report on Sunday, down from the 20 added on Saturday and from the 18 added Sunday a week ago.
The seven-day rolling average of added COVID-19 cases in the Health District, which includes Oconee and Clarke counties, dropped just slightly from 18.6 cases per day to 18.3 on Sunday.
