The Department of Public Health added 144 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the 10-county Northeast Health District with the release of the Daily Status Report on Thursday, and the seven-day rolling average of added cases in the District increased to a new record of 116.9.
The Department of Public Health did not list any new deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the District, and the seven-day rolling average of added deaths remained unchanged at 1.9.
Following the pattern of the state as a whole, the Northeast Health District on Wednesday saw large increases in both the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases and in deaths attributed to the disease.
The 10-county region added 133 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report, including 38 in Clarke County and five in Oconee County.
About 40 parents showed up at the central offices of Oconee County Schools in Watkinsville on Wednesday morning to ask school administrators to delay the deadline for parents to make a decision on whether their children will attend school in-person or remotely starting on Aug. 5.
They also asked Superintendent Jason Branch and Board of Education members to come out to meet them and answer questions about the plans for the Aug. 5 reopening.
The Northridge Health and Rehabilitation nursing home in Commerce added six new deaths among its residents in the Department of Community Health Long-Term Care Facility Report on Tuesday.
The Jackson County nursing home has reported 10 deaths at the facility since June 29 and currently has 58 of its 105 residents testing positive. It also has reported that the cumulative number of staff with COVID-19 is 17.
A parent in the 1,000-member strong Facebook Group Safety First Reopening Schools has called for a protest early on Wednesday morning at the administrative offices of Oconee County Schools.
The purpose of the protest is to get the school system to postpone the date by which parents have to select either the in-person or distance/digital learning option from Wednesday to July 20 and to get the system to require students who attend classes in-person to wear masks.
The Northeast Health District added 126 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 with release of the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report on Monday.
The seven-day rolling average of added cases in the 10-county District topped 100 for the first time ever. The average jumped from 96.1 on Sunday to 104.1 on Monday.
Organized by Jamey Canady via Facebook, the Back The Blue Rally included a prayer by Kevin “Chappy” Hynes, a Watkinsville police officer and chaplain, and brief comments by Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry.
Those present waved flags, carried signs with messages such as Back The Blue, and intermingled with Sheriff Department deputies leaving work at the Thursday shift.
