NE Health District Adds 390 COVID Cases, Four Deaths From Disease

The Northeast Health District added 390 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday with the release of the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report, which also listed three deaths in the District attributed to the disease.

The three deaths listed in the Daily Status Report were of an 85-year-old female in Elbert County without a chronic condition, a 28-year-old male in Jackson County without a known chronic condition, and an 83-year-old female in Walton County with a chronic condition.

The seven-day rolling average of added, confirmed deaths listed in the Daily Status Report remained unchanged from Tuesday at 1.6. The District had added three deaths on Wednesday of last week as well.

The Department of Community Health reported the death of a resident of The Oaks Athens Skilled Nursing in Clarke County, the second death at that facility. The Department of Community Health does not list characteristics of the deceased in its Long-Term Care Facility Report.

The Department of Public Health Daily Status Report listed 292 cases confirmed via molecular tests and 98 cases identified through the rapid antigen tests. The seven-day rolling average of added cases based on the combination of the outcomes of the two tests continued to climb, from 346.3 on Tuesday to 355.0 on Wednesday.

Oconee County added 20 cases through a combination of the two tests and Clarke County added 84, and the seven-day rolling average of added cases in Oconee County increased to 20.6 on Wednesday from 19.7 on Tuesday and in Clarke County from 68.9 on Tuesday to 69.4 on Wednesday.

The Department of Community Health on Wednesday listed four new cases of COVID-19 among the residents of the 38 long-term care facilities covered by its report and six new cases of the disease among the staffs of the these facilities.

Oconee County Schools sent parents at Dove Creek Elementary School a notice late on Tuesday about an active case at that school, and sent three messages to parents on Wednesday about cases at Oconee County Middle School, Malcom Bridge Middle School (two cases), and Colham Ferry Elementary School.

The University of Georgia, in its weekly COVID-19 Health And Exposure Update, reported 107 Positive COVID-19 Tests in the week ending Dec. 13, down from 121 the week earlier, and a total of 148 Positive Tests, including those not conducted in Athens-Clarke County, down from 184 the week earlier.

For more information on COVID-19 locally and around the state, please click through to Oconee County Observations.