7 more test positive in Floyd County
♦ Bartow County reports 4 more deaths in a single day.
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in Floyd County rose by 7 Monday — still a slower rate than in neighboring Bartow where 22 more residents tested positive for the disease.
Bartow also sustained 4 additional deaths Monday, bringing its total to 11 fatalities and 182 cases. The number of Floyd County deaths remained at three.
As of Monday night, 89 Floyd County residents had tested positive, compared to the 82 reported Sunday, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.
Of those cases 16 are residents of Rome Health and Rehabilitation Center. Five of those patients have been hospitalized for treatment, said spokeswoman Annaliese Impink. None of the residents who were previously hospitalized have been released back to the nursing home, she said.
Statewide, cases jumped by 816 in a single day, to a total of 7,558 cases as of Monday at 7 p.m. The death toll from the virus rose to 294 for Georgia.
Local hospitals had 16 patients with the disease and reported 14 who had tested negative as of Monday night. There were 32 patients awaiting test results, according to Floyd County Emergency Management Agency Director Tim Herrington.
Regionally the number of those who have been infected with the new coronavirus has also shown a steady increase with more heavily populated areas — like Cobb County — bearing the brunt.
Cobb County had 517 residents confirmed with COVID-19 and 26 deaths. Only Fulton County and Dougherty County in South Georgia had higher death tolls.
There were 20 confirmed cases in Polk County, 25 in Gordon County, 4 in Chattooga County and 57 in Paulding County.
Of the 7,558 Georgians who have tested positive, 1,393 have required hospital treatment, just over 18%. More than 31,000 tests had been administered by Monday.
Surgeon general warns of tough times ahead
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned Americans on Sunday to brace for a hard week of coronavirus deaths.
“This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment,” Adams said.
The virus is spread by droplets from coughs or sneezes. For most people, the virus causes mild to moderate symptoms such as fever and cough. But for some, especially older adults and the infirm, it can cause pneumonia. Over 263,000 people have recovered worldwide.
Illness has been compounded by shocking economic pain as all the world’s largest economies have ground to a halt, with 10 million jobs lost in the United States in the last two weeks alone.
New York City, the U.S. epicenter, New Orleans and Detroit face especially worrying days ahead. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are striking optimistic tones, insisting that hard weeks ahead will ultimately lead to the nation beginning to turn a corner.
In Georgia, even prisoners have been tasked with filling a need. Last month Georgia prisoners began the production of the masks, which can be hand-washed and reused at Central, Hancock and Pulaski state prisons. Ultimately, the plan is to make 85,000 masks so that each staff member and each inmate at all Georgia prisons has two masks.
As of Sunday evening, 17 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19, including two Lee State Prison inmates who have died, and 25 Department of Corrections staff members had confirmed cases, according to the agency’s website.
Georgia Tech, CVS set
up testing sites
Georgia Tech opened a drive-thru rapid COVID-19 testing site Monday on its Midtown Atlanta campus.
The test site, a partnership between the state Department of Public Health and CVS Health, is operating at a parking deck at 352 Peachtree Place. At full capacity, the site will be able to conduct up to 1,000 tests per day.
The tests, offered by Abbott Laboratories will take about 30 minutes.
“Increased access to rapid testing remains one of our top priorities in order to identify more cases, get Georgians the care they need and prevent further infection in our communities,” Gov. Brian Kemp said. “This unique, public-private partnership will strengthen our testing capability as we continue to take the fight to COVID-19 in Georgia, and we are grateful for CVS Health’s support to stop the spread of the virus.”