Kemp Urges GA To Worship At Home As Coronavirus Cases Increase

ATLANTA, GA — Georgia residents were urged by the governor to celebrate Easter weekend at home as the number of new coronavirus cases reported in the state continues to rise. According to numbers released Saturday at noon by the Georgia Department of Public Health, the state now has 12,159 cases of COVID-19, up from 11,483 cases one day ago.

While the increase in cases is 676, the number is less than the previous day's increase of more than 900 cases.

The state also saw 12 more deaths since Friday, bringing the total death toll to 428. The health department reports that deaths make up 3.52 percent of all cases. A total of 2,479 people with COVID-19 have been hospitalized as of Saturday's noon report. That is 20.39 percent of all cases.

"During these challenging times, the celebration of #GoodFriday reminds all of us that even when things seem dark, there is hope that outweighs all fear," Kemp tweeted Friday. "Marty, the girls, and I wish all who celebrate a blessed and peaceful Good Friday as we begin Easter weekend together."

On Friday Kemp urged Georgians to plan for online or call-in religious services, including Easter Sunday.

"I greatly appreciate faith leaders across our state who have made the tough decision to stop the spread of COVID-19 by suspending in-person religious services. Their leadership is literally saving lives," Kemp said in a statement. "To all Georgians celebrating Easter this Sunday, I am pleading with you to not attend any services in person. If you attend worship services in person, you risk exposure to coronavirus - potentially endangering your life, the lives of your neighbors, and your loved ones. I know this decision is difficult, but we will get through this together.”

Law enforcement officers have received reports that people are not staying in their vehicles at drive-in services, Kemp noted. Parents have left their cars to let their children play, go to nearby restrooms, or otherwise congregate, which defies social distancing standards to keep a space of 6 feet from others to avoid spreading the virus.

As national leaders, including President Donald Trump and the U.S. surgeon general, on Friday discussed the higher number of coronavirus cases among African-Americans and other people of color, the state released numbers on the racial breakdown of cases. More than half of the patients were not identified by any race or ethnicity.

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Derrick Johnson, NAACP president and CEO, said in a statement Friday that the pandemic has exposed the inequality that exists everywhere, particularly in the U.S. healthcare system, which harms African Americans at a drastically disproportionate rate.

"Our communities remain marginalized, underfunded, and largely forgotten on every imaginable scale," Johnson said. "For more than three years, this administration has dismantled programs and policies that promote equality and reduce racial disparities in every facet of society. Hollow convenings will not change what is happening in our communities."

He called on the Centers for Disease Control to immediately release information on COVID-19 testing, cases, and outcomes using data disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic status.

Earlier this week Kemp extended the public health state of emergency through May 13. "This will allow us to continue deploying resources, lend support to frontline healthcare workers, and help as we prepare for a potential patient surge in our hospitals," he tweeted.

Schools have been ordered canceled for the remainder of the school year.

Kemp ordered a shelter in place for the state which began April 3 and he extended the statewide shelter-in-place order through the end of April.

Residents then can only leave their homes if they're doing something essential like:

• Getting important supplies, grocery shopping or getting food
• Visiting a doctor or a pharmacist for medical care
• Leaving to exercise, jog or walk, but only if you keep the minimum 6 feet from everyone else as part of safe social distancing.

As of Saturday afternoon, Fulton County still has the most cases of any Georgia county with 1,422 cases. Following Fulton, Dougherty County has 1,076 cases, DeKalb with 835 cases, Cobb with 696 cases, Gwinnett with 675 cases, Clayton with 331, Hall with 275, Henry with 249, Lee with 234, Bartow with 209, Sumter with 222, Carroll with 201, Cherokee with 182, Douglas with 147, Chatham with 142, Mitchell with 135, Muscogee with 144, Forsyth with 121, Houston with 113 and Early with 106.

Dougherty County has had the highest death toll with 69 deaths. This is followed by Fulton with 50 deaths, Cobb with 33, Gwinnett with 18, Lee and Bartow each had 15, Mitchell and DeKalb each had 13, and Clarke and Clayton each had 11.

According to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine, there are have been more than 503,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States and 29,223 of those have already recovered. Worldwide there are more than 1.7 million cases and more than 3909,000 of those have recovered.

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