District Increases Cleaning After Potential Coronavirus Case

METRO ATLANTA, GA — A local school district is increasing its cleaning standards, but not closing any schools, after four more presumed cases of coronavirus were discovered in metro Atlanta over the weekend, Gov. Brian Kemp said on Sunday.

The Georgia Department of Public Health is awaiting confirmatory testing on the four new presumptive positive tests for COVID-19 in the Georgia residents. Testing was completed Sunday at the Georgia Public Health Laboratory and the results have been submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for verification.

One person is from Fulton County, another person is from Cherokee County, and the other two individuals are from Cobb County, but they have no connection to each other. All the individuals are hospitalized, and the sources of their infections are not known, the Georgia Department of Public Health.

Cherokee County Schools issued a statement Monday saying the adult "does not have a household member who attends or works for the district. Department of Public Health is not recommending any district school closures at this time."

"It is likely there will be other 'presumptive positive' and/or confirmed cases of COVID-19 among Cherokee County residents, and we do not plan to send you a notice about every case," the district said. "These cases will be reported by Department of Public Health on its website. Should there be a household connection to the school district and/or a COVID-19 diagnosis among our students and/or staff, you would be notified immediately."

Since the initial cases in Georgia were announced, school officials have been working on additional steps to further improve its existing best practices.

"Custodians are being provided additional training focused on sanitizing high-touch areas (desktops, keyboards, bathroom fixtures, water fountains, door handles, etc.) with virus-killing products," the district said. "Custodians will be working additional shifts to allow for more time to be spent on this sanitizing. We also are working through our principals and school nurses to ensure students and staff understand and follow best every-day healthy practices like frequently washing hands."

Cherokee County Emergency Management Agency said it "has been notified that the patient from Cherokee County being reported as a presumptive positive case is being hospitalized at an out of county healthcare facility, as a precaution and has not received preliminary testing thus far."

"Therefore, they have not tested positive for Covid-19 on a screening test and are currently awaiting further testing," the department said in a statement Monday morning. "We believe that until commercial testing becomes more widely available we will continue to hear more reports of 'presumptive positive cases' where, erring on the side of caution, patients are treated as being positive until further testing rules out the need. The CDC still advises that the risk of COVID-19 to the general public in Cherokee County remains low and to continue to use the best prevention measures for any respiratory virus."

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

With the addition of these four presumptive positive cases of COVID-19, there are now seven presumptive positives pending confirmatory testing by CDC and six confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Georgia.

The most recent confirmed cases were in Cobb, Fulton and Floyd counties, while a sixth case in Gwinnett County is presumed positive for the respiratory disease, but still awaiting confirmation.

Globally, more than 111,000 people have been infected and nearly 3,900 people have died from the new coronavirus, Johns Hopkins reported Monday morning. Of that total, more than 80,000 confirmed cases are in China, while the entire United States has 566 confirmed cases as of Monday morning. There have been 22 deaths in the U.S. have been tied to the virus outbreak.

Previously reported cases include a Cobb County resident who recently returned from Italy — the site of the largest outbreak in Europe — and is isolated at home with coronavirus, Georgia Department of Health officials said.

Another Fulton County resident is hospitalized as authorities try to determine how that person's exposure to the COVID-19 virus occurred.

And a 46-year-old Floyd County woman is hospitalized with the virus. Testing by the Centers for Disease Control confirmed the patient has the virus, which was first indicated by a state lab test. The woman went to the Floyd Medical Center's Emergency Care Center with flu-like symptoms on Feb. 29, was treated and released, officials said. The woman did not meet the criteria to be tested for COVID-19 at that time, the hospital said. She returned to the Floyd Emergency Care Center on Tuesday with worsening symptoms, still did not meet coronavirus screening criteria, but was admitted to the hospital due to her condition, the county said.

In addition, the Georgia Department of Health is awaiting confirmatory testing on a presumptive positive test for COVID-19 in a resident of Gwinnett County. The initial testing was completed by Georgia Public Health Laboratory on March 6. The person recently returned from Italy and was self-monitoring at home, and is now isolated at home, Kemp's office said.

The state's first two cases of coronavirus are a 56-year-old Fulton County man who had been in Milan, Italy, and his son. The father and son both saw a private doctor in February and were also tested by the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The man's spouse and another child in the family are being tested, too.

A Cherokee County private co-op school was temporarily closed when officials determined the teen was a student there. No confirmed cases of the virus have been reported at the school.

A total of 34 Georgians and other Americans aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship currently quarantined off the coast of California due to the new coronavirus will be transferred to an airbase in Marietta, Georgia, according to Gov. Brian Kemp.

"These passengers will undergo testing and be quarantined for possible exposure to COVID-19, Kemp said in a statement released on Sunday. "They are expected to arrive at Dobbins late Monday, March 9 or early Tuesday, March 10."

The Dobbins Air Reserve Base is located at 1291 Cobb Parkway, which is some 20 miles northwest of Atlanta.

The Grand Princess cruise ship was barred from returning to San Francisco from a Feb. 21 voyage after it was learned that two passengers who traveled on the cruise last month to Mexico contracted the coronavirus.

However, on Saturday it was announced that the ship would dock in Oakland, California, on Monday and that guests who required immediate medical care would be sent to health care facilities in California.

The remaining guests of the 3,500 onboard will be screened and sent to government facilities where they'll be quarantined.

The cruise ship has more than 20 confirmed positive cases of the coronavirus among the thousands of passengers on board.

There is no evidence of community spread of coronavirus in Georgia at this time, health officials said.

Read More:

• 3rd Possible Coronavirus Case Is Woman Turned Away From Hospital
• 3 More GA Coronavirus Cases Confirmed, 1 Test Pending
• GA Issues New Coronavirus Guidelines For Schools
• GA School Shuts Down After Positive Coronavirus Test: District

• Watch Out For Coronavirus Scams, Georgia Officials Warn
• Kroger Issues Limit On Flu Medicine And Hand Sanitizer
• Starbucks Takes Steps To Avoid Coronavirus Spread In Atlanta
• 3 More GA Coronavirus Cases Confirmed, 1 Test Pending
• Passengers On Cruise Ship Hit By Coronavirus Headed To Georgia

Prevent the Spread of Illness

According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, the best way to prevent infection with any respiratory virus is to use the same preventive strategies used during a normal cold and flu season:

• Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds.
• If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Stay home when you are sick.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

"If you have recently traveled to areas where there are ongoing outbreaks of COVID-19 and you develop fever with cough and shortness of breath within 14 days of your travel, or if you have had contact with someone who is suspected to have COVID-19, stay home and call your health care provider or local health department right away," the Department of Public Health said. "Be sure to call before going to a doctor’s office, emergency room, or urgent care center and tell them about your recent travel and symptoms."

For information about COVID-19, visit the Department of Public Health or CDC.