GA Coronavirus: Cases Rise To 146, Schools Ordered To Close

GEORGIA — More cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Georgia on Tuesday. Due to the increased cases, Gov. Brian Kemp has ordered all public schools to close through the end of the month, and colleges to finish the semester online.

One person in Cobb County has died from the respiratory virus, and the number of confirmed and presumed positive cases of COVID-19 rose from 121 on Monday to 146 cases in 27 counties by Tuesday.

Presumed positive coronavirus cases in Georgia as of Monday include: Richmond County, Rockdale County, Columbia County, Barrow County, Forsyth County, Paulding County, Troup County, Hall County, Dougherty County, Clayton County, Clarke County, Newton County, Henry County, Polk County, Gordon County, Fulton County, Cherokee County, Floyd County, Bartow County, Cobb County, Gwinnett County, DeKalb County, Fayette County, Coweta County, Lee County, Lowndes County and Charlton County.

Fulton County has the most cases in the state with 33, followed by Cobb County with 25, DeKalb with 15, Bartow with 10, and Cherokee and Gwinnett with seven.

The state's lone fatality is a 67-year-old man who was hospitalized at WellStar Kennestone after testing positive for COVID-19 on March 7, authorities said. In addition to being infected with coronavirus disease, the victim also had underlying medical conditions, a news release said.

Globally, more than 185,000 people have been infected and more than 7,300 people have died from the new coronavirus, Johns Hopkins reported Tuesday morning. Of that total, more than 4,600 confirmed cases are in the United States. There have been 85 deaths in the U.S. have been tied to the virus outbreak.

Don't miss updates about precautions in Georgia as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.

GA Coronavirus: All K-12 Schools Shut, Colleges Move Online

After many metro Atlanta school districts closed their doors last week, Gov. Brian Kemp has ordered any remaining public schools districts that were still open to close through the end of the month. Colleges followed suit, and will finish the semester online, the University System of Georgia said Monday.

In accordance with newly issued federal guidance, Kemp signed an executive order Monday night closing all public elementary, secondary, and post-secondary public schools in Georgia from March 18 to March 31.

"To keep our students, teachers, and administrators safe and mitigate the spread of COVID-19, I am ordering the closure of all public elementary, secondary, and post-secondary schools in Georgia from March 18, 2020 to March 31, 2020," Kemp said. "This measure is critical to reducing local transmission in communities across our state, and I ask Georgians to continue to follow best practices — washing their hands regularly, isolating the elderly and chronically ill, and avoiding large events if possible — in the days and weeks ahead."

While Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has prohibited crowds of more than 50 through the end of the month in the city as part of a state of emergency, Kemp has not signed a similar order for the state.

Related: GA Schools Offering Meals To Students During Coronavirus Closures

Georgia's older students will also not return to the classroom after the University System of Georgia announced Monday night that all 26 institutions will move to online instruction for all courses for the remainder of the semester, with extremely limited exceptions.

This action comes following last week's decision to suspend instruction for two weeks to ensure business and instructional continuity, and to allow further state assessment of COVID-19.