The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As virus cases soar, Georgians hunker down
Over the past week, Georgians have seen a sharp rise in the number of diagnosed coronavirus infections in the state, prompting scores of businesses to announce temporarily closings and more public gatherings to be called off.
As of Saturday, there were more than 500 confirmed cases in Georgia and at least 14 had died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
Cases are spread throughout the state
Most confirmed cases are in
metro Atlanta, particularly in Fulton and Cobb counties. But Dr. Kathleen Toomey, Georgia’s public health commissioner, said “hot spots” exist in northwestern and southwestern Georgia, primarily in Bartow and Floyd counties, north of Atlanta, and Dougherty County, about 200 miles to the south.
Nearly half of all Georgia cases were reported in people between ages 18 and 59. Federal and state health officials have repeatedly warned that elderly people are most at risk, but people 60 and older account for only about onethird of Georgia’s confirmed cases.
In remarks streamed online Thursday from the state Capitol, Gov. Brian Kemp and Toomey predicted a continuing surge in cases.
For the first time, officials Thursday identified one of the deceased patients: Elizabeth Eugenia Wells, 65, of Rome.
Wells died late Wednesday afternoon at Redmond Regional Medical Center in Rome, where she was admitted March 7 with a fever
and trouble breathing, said Gene Proctor, the Floyd County coroner.
Wells may be connected to a cluster of cases at a Cartersville church, Proctor said. She sang in the choir at the Church at Liberty Square, where at least 15 members have tested positive for the coronavirus or are awaiting test results, according to church members.
Necessary medical supplies in short supply
Doctors and nurses say supplies of disposable gowns that can help protect them from infection are in short supply. Medics are being asked to reuse N-95 masks. Some clinics reportedly are running low on specialized swabs used to check for coronavirus. Hospitals say they might not have enough lifesaving devices, such as ventilators, to treat all the severely ill people who need them.
Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced he has activated the U.S. Defense Production Act, a Korean War-era law, to ramp up production of medical supplies.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper also said 1 million N-95 masks will be immediately released from strategic reserves to the federal health department to distribute, along with 2,000 ventilators. Trump said the federal government has millions of
other medical supplies on order.
Lawmaker’s diagnosis shakes up Legislature
Georgia’s entire legislative branch was urged to self-isolate after state Sen. Brandon Beach revealed he tested positive for coronavirus, two days after he showed up for a special session vote.
Beach had symptoms of COVID19 and was waiting for the test results when he decided to come for the vote.
The development sparked outrage from some of his colleagues and a reprimand from Kemp.
All 236 Georgia lawmakers and dozens of the Legislature’s staffers, along with teenage pages, received memos late Wednesday urging them to isolate themselves for two weeks after Beach, an Alpharetta Republican, disclosed his test results.
Schools and businesses closed
Schools will remain closed until March 31, and it’s unclear when children will return to in-school classes. Metro Atlanta school districts are putting plans in place to go into next month. Parents are eager to know if there’s an end in sight.
Meanwhile, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms issued an executive order to close in-person restaurant dining in the city. Bottoms’ order also shuttered bars,
nightclubs, private social clubs, fitness centers, gyms, movie theaters, bowling alleys and arcades.
Restaurants are still able to offer takeout and delivery, a model that many were already moving toward as patrons stayed home
during the coronavirus pandemic. Atlanta is one of several cities in Georgia to close restaurants and bars. Decatur, Brookhaven, Clarkston and Dunwoody are among other cities also adopting in-restaurant dining bans.
Delta cuts 70% of flights, parks planes
Delta Air Lines is slashing 70% of flights and parking at least half of its fleet, an unprecedented drawdown by the world’s largest airline by revenue.
More than 10,000 employees have volunteered since March 13 to take unpaid leave — and Delta is encouraging more workers to join them while mothballing more than 600 planes and cutting 80% of international flying over the next two to three months. Domestic flights also are being sharply curtailed.