Daily Status Report Not Reflective Of Athens Nursing Homes Deaths

The Georgia Department of Public Health in its noon Daily Status Report for Thursday listed nine deaths for Clarke County despite the announcement by an Athens nursing home operator Wednesday that 10 of its residents who had “previously tested presumptive positive for COVID-19" had passed away “in the past few weeks.”

The Daily Status Report listed Clarke County as having its first COVID-19 death on March 2 (or a little more than two weeks ago), seven deaths attributable to COVID-19 on April 2, eight on April 3, and nine first on April 7.

Separate from the announcement, Oconee County Coroner Ed Carson said on Wednesday that he and Athens-Clarke County Coroner Sonny Wilson have requested test kits from the Department of Public Health epidemiologist in Athens and been told they are not available.

The statement by Carson and announcement for PruittHealth Grandview, which operates the nursing home at 165 Winston Drive, off North Chase Street just outside the perimeter, raises questions about the meaning of at least the death statistics released twice a day in the Department of Health’s Daily Status Report.

It also points to continued problems with testing, underscored by an announcement by area legislators Wednesday evening, by comments of hospital administrators on Monday, and by a news release by the Northeast District of the Department of Health on Tuesday.

The Thursday Daily Status report shows the Northeast Health District, which includes Oconee and Clarke Counties, added only nine confirmed cases in the 24-hour-period ending at noon, with neither Oconee nor Clarke adding a single case.

For more on this story, with charts showing local and statewide trends, please go to Oconee County Observations.