GA Coronavirus: Nearly 200 Cases Confirmed, 1,500 Tests, 4 Deaths

GEORGIA — There were three deaths and more than 50 new cases of coronavirus confirmed in Georgia overnight, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, Emory Healthcare and the Georgia Department of Health said on Wednesday.

Wednesday morning, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital received 14 test results, including 13 positives. Two of those patients, being cared for at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, have died.

The individuals, a 42-year-old woman and a 69-year-old-woman, both died in the Albany hospital. In addition to testing positive for COVID-19, each had existing medical conditions, DPH said.

“The entire Phoebe Family is saddened to learn of the first COVID-19 deaths in our area," said Steven Kitchen, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital Chief Medical Officer. "We remain committed to faithfully serving the needs of our community. Each day, we are caring for additional people we suspect may have COVID-19. Unfortunately, more deaths are likely to occur, and we will certainly see more positive cases as we receive more test results. We strongly urge everyone to heed warnings and practice proper social distancing. We need to do all we can now to try to slow the spread of the virus."

No identifying details about a patient treated at Emory Healthcare who died have been released, including which Emory facility the patient was at, WSB-TV reports.

“The Emory Healthcare community is saddened to learn of the first death of one of our patients with confirmed COVID-19 despite the heroic efforts of our physicians, nurses and care team,” Emory said in a statement to the station. “For this patient’s family, this is an incredibly sad day.”

With the new cases, the DPH released the numbers of tests taken across the state, which totaled more than 1,500.

There have been 1,065 tests done in a commercial lab, with 104 coming in positive. The Department of Public Health Lab has done 443 tests, and had 93 positives.

The state's first fatality was a 67-year-old man who was hospitalized at WellStar Kennestone who tested positive for coronavirus on March 7, authorities said. The number of confirmed and presumed positive cases of COVID-19 rose from 146 on Tuesday to 197 cases in 28 counties on Wednesday.

Fulton County has the most cases in the state with 49, followed by Cobb County with 28, Bartow with 19, DeKalb with 18, and Cherokee with 9, Fayette with eight, and Gwinnett and Dougherty with seven each.

Presumed positive coronavirus cases in Georgia as of Wednesday include: Whitfield County, Houston County, Richmond 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.

Globally, more than 207,000 people have been infected and more than 8,200 people have died from the new coronavirus, Johns Hopkins reported Wednesday. Of that total, more than 7,300 confirmed cases are in the United States. There have been 115 deaths in the U.S. have been tied to the virus outbreak.

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2nd GA Coronavirus Patient Quarantined At Park

Officials from Georgia Emergency Management Agency said a second person has been put under quarantine at the Hard Labor Creek State Park isolation unit Monday night.

Gov. Brian Kemp said last week that seven emergency mobile units were deployed to Hard Labor Creek State Park in Morgan County. Coronavirus patients who aren't able to self-isolate have been sent to the park to stay.

The patient has previously tested positive for COVID-19 at a Georgia hospital and has been discharged from care with instructions to continue to self-quarantine for a length of time determined by hospital personnel and Georgia Department of Public Health officials.

The patient will be observed and monitored at the isolation unit by Georgia Department of Public Health. According to officials, this is the only patient expected at the isolation unit at this time.

The governor's office confirmed that the first patient, Joey Camp from Cherokee County who tested positive for the virus, was isolated on the state park grounds in one of the mobile units. The person was not able to isolate at their primary residence and was not in critical condition requiring any hospital admittance.

Camp was released from quarantine Sunday and sent home. Camp last worked at his job at Waffle House, 1849 Marietta Highway in Canton, on March 1.

See more: Canton Waffle House Employee Tests Positive For Coronavirus

GA Coronavirus: Grocery Stores Set New Hours, Senior Guest Hour

Grocery stores around the metro Atlanta area are altering their normal hours to give employees more time to clean and restock shelves after customers shopping for coronavirus essentials have wiped out shelves.

Several chains, including Publix, said that hours would be shortened for more cleaning, restocking and the health of employees. Publix Super Markets adjusted company-wide store and pharmacy hours company-wide to close at 8 p.m. nightly until further notice.

Here's a look at the latest grocery chains announcing updated hours.