NE Health District Adds 186 COVID Cases; Rolling Average Goes Up

The Northeast Health District added 159 confirmed COVID-19 cases based on molecular tests, 27 cases based on antigen or rapid tests, and a death from the disease with the release of the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report on Thursday.

The 159 confirmed cases pushed up the seven-day rolling average of added cases based on the molecular test to 112.9 from 111.3 on Wednesday. The trend has been toward increased cases going back to Oct. 8.

Every county in the Northeast Health District added at least two cases on Thursday, with Oconee County adding five and Clarke County adding 34. In both of the counties, the seven-day rolling average of added cases dropped slightly on Thursday.

The Northeast Health District also added 27 cases based on antigen tests, and the seven-day rolling average of added cases based on this diagnostic tool declined on Thursday to 23.3 from 26.3 on Wednesday.

The Department of Public Health's added COVID-19 death was of a 63-year-old male in Madison County without a known chronic condition.

The Department of Public Health removed two deaths in the District previously listed as caused by the disease with the Thursday Daily Status Report. Across the state, it eliminated seven deaths.

With the net loss of a death, the seven-day rolling average of added deaths in the Northeast Health District dropped to 0.7 from 1.4 on Wednesday.

The Georgia Hospital Association (GHA) and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) reported on Thursday that the number of COVID-19 patients at area hospitals (88) increased by two from the day before, that the number of ICU beds in use (62) increased by three from the day before, and that the number of adult ventilators in use (28) was the same as the day before.

The number of COVID-19 patients has been increasing going back to Oct. 10, while ICU Bed Use and Ventilator Use has been relatively flat during that period.

The Department of Community Health, in Thursday’s Long-Term Care Facility Report, listed two new COVID Positive Residents, both at Pruitthealth–Athens Heritage nursing home in Clarke County.

The Long-Term Care Facility Report also listed three new COVID-19 Positive Staff, one at High Shoals Health and Rehabilitation nursing home in Oconee County, one at Heardmont Health and Rehabilitation nursing home in Elbert County, and the third at Nancy Hart Nursing Center, also in Elbert County.

For more local reporting, for state comparisons, and for charts summarizing local and state data, please go to Oconee County Observations.