Deaths, Hospitalizations Up Day Before Georgia Bars Reopen

GEORGIA — The number of Georgians hospitalized or killed by the coronavirus continued to inch up this weekend as more sectors of the economy prepare to reopen, figures from the Georgia Department of Public Health showed. More of Georgia's businesses will be able to reopen their doors after Gov. Brian Kemp announced bars, nightclubs and amusement parks can reopen on June 1.

In the United States a total of 104,051 coronavirus deaths were reported Sunday afternoon, while the worldwide total stood at 370,416 deaths.

At 1 p.m. Sunday, the Georgia Department of Public Health reported 553,986 tests for COVID-19, of which 88,461 are the serology or antibody tests. From those tests, Georgia reports 46,986 cases of COVID-19, an increase of 700 cases from Saturday.

So far Georgia has recorded 2,042 deaths from the coronavirus, with 7,946 hospitalizations. State figures show 39 coronavirus deaths occurred in the past 24 hours, and hospitalizations increased by 69 patients.

In an interview Thursday, Kemp said it's imperative that Georgians return to work, and if coronavirus rates climb, he will not order shutdowns.

"We've got to figure out how to live the virus and there's some very smart people that are doing that every single day in government, in the private sector, in our school systems and we're going to figure that out," Kemp said, according to WTVM. "That's where we are now, but we're definitely not at the point where the virus is in the rearview mirror."

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Counties in or near metro Atlanta continue to have the highest number of cases, with Fulton County in first with 4,519 confirmed positives. Gwinnett is second with 3,775, DeKalb is third with 3,733, Cobb is fourth with 3,025 and Hall is fifth with 2,467. Today's statistics also identify 1,694 cases of COVID-19 as from "unknown" counties.

The Centers for Disease Control continues to urge residents to slow the spread of the respiratory virus by wearing a cloth face covering in public spaces, keeping at least 6 feet apart from other and frequently washing your hands.

Kemp said the next step moving forward "puts the health and well-being of the citizenry first." His newest executive order extended certain safety precautions, but also eased others.

"Restrictions still remain intact to keep every Georgia business employee's and their customers safe," he said. "For several weeks now, gatherings of 10 or more people in a single location have been banned in Georgia unless there is 6 feet between each person. Given favorable data, we feel comfortable incrementally increasing that number to 25. Starting June 1, you can have gatherings of more than 25 people in a single location if you have at least 6 feet between each person."

On Monday, bars and nightclubs can reopen if they comply with "strict sanitation and social distancing rules all crafted to reflect industry practices and mitigate health risks," Kemp said.

Bars and nightclubs must meet 39 mandatory measures to ensure patron well-being.

Professional and amateur sports teams which hold practices or other in-person operations are also now able to resume in Georgia. The professional teams will have to follow the respective guidelines from the national leagues, Kemp said. All amateur sports that will resume in-person operations must follow the guidelines for non-critical infrastructure organizations.

The state this week began distributing 18,440 vials of the antiviral drug remdesivir to nearly 85 hospitals in Georgia, enough to treat about 1,676 patients with COVID-19 infection. Remdesivir is being used to treat hospitalized patients with low oxygen levels or pneumonia. It has been found to shorten the duration of disease in hospital patients.

Related:

• When GA's Bars, Sports Teams, Live Performance Venues Can Resume
• Georgia Records All-Time High Unemployment Rate