Coronavirus: Gov. Kemp Touts Business Reopening At Barbershop

ATLANTA, GA — Gov. Brian Kemp returned Thursday for another fresh haircut since he allowed business to reopen earlier this month. It’s been two weeks since he shared a photo of him and his barber on social media; both Kemp and the barber wore masks.

Kemp went to Peachtree Battle Barber Shop in Atlanta today.

“It’s great to see our small business owners opening back up,” he said on Twitter, adding that everyone is taking precaution by wearing masks.

“Keep chopping, keep cutting,” he said.

Kemp said Tuesday that Georgia reached its lowest number of COVID-19 positive patients hospitalized since hospitals started reporting data to the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency on April 8.

Georgia’s COVID-19 positive rate is higher than what state reports, according to the Ledger Inquirer in Columbus, GA.

A spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Public Health confirmed Monday with the news outlet that data on its website lists the total number of tests performed for both antibody and viral tests for COVID-19.

A clinical associate professor at Georgia State University’s School of Public Health tells them that this method is skewing the numbers by mixing two different tests.

As of Thursday, Georgia has 40,405 confirmed cases of coronavirus, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health’s daily report released at 1 p.m. There have been 1,754 deaths. Their updated numbers reflect an increase of over 700 new statewide cases from Wednesday.

On Thursday, Fulton County reported 3,810 positive cases of the coronavirus and 182 deaths. DeKalb County reported 3,008 positive cases and 92 deaths; followed by 2,869 positive cases and 121 deaths in Gwinnett County; 2,601 positive cases and 135 deaths in Cobb County; 2,232 positive cases and 40 deaths in Hall County; and 1,719 positive cases and 141 deaths in Dougherty County, according to the state health department.

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Of the 7,235 total hospitalizations among positive cases, 1,642 are intensive care unit admissions. These reflect information at the time cases were reported to the state health department.

The public health website provides graphs of cumulative cases and deaths over time. Numbers over the last 14 days may be incomplete due to cases not yet reported as well as pending test results.

"A confirmed case is defined as a person who has tested positive for 2019 novel coronavirus," says the Georgia Department of Health. "Health care providers diagnose patients with COVID-19 and they, along with laboratories, report the COVID-19 cases to the Georgia DPH. These numbers are preliminary and may change as more information is gathered on a person under investigation."

Kemp joined CVS Health Thursday to announce the launch of new COVID-19 testing sites in Georgia. On Friday, CVS Health will open 23 new COVID-19 test sites at select CVS Pharmacy drive-thru locations across the state.

Related:

• Gov. Kemp Visits GA Barbershop For A Cut; New Cases, More Deaths
• GA Sees Lowest Coronavirus Hospitalizations Since April
• VP Mike Pence To Meet With Gov. Kemp, Restaurant Executives