NE Health District Adds 96 COVID Cases; Hospital Patients Up

The Northeast Health District added 91 confirmed COVID-19 cases based on molecular testing, five cases based on antigen testing, and a death from the disease with the release of the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report on Sunday.

The death was of an 83-year-old male in Elbert County with a chronic condition. Elbert County now has 21 confirmed deaths listed in the Daily Status Report, and the District has 359.

The seven-day rolling average of added deaths increased to 1.1 from 1.0 on Saturday.

Since Nov. 3, the Department of Public Health also has been reporting “probable deaths,” and the Daily Status Report included one such “probable death” in the Northeast Health District on Sunday.

That death was in Oconee County and was the second in as many days reported in Oconee County. Oconee now has the two “probable deaths,” and the District has 32. The Daily Status Report does not list characteristics of “probable deaths.”

The Daily Status Report listed 91 confirmed cases based on molecular tests, and the seven-day rolling average of added molecular cases decreased to 208.6 from 210.9 on Saturday.

Seven of the 10 counties in the District added cases, with Oconee county adding six and Clarke County adding 17. The seven-day rolling average of added molecular cases fell slightly in Oconee County and increased slightly in Clarke County.

The District also added five cases based on the rapid antigen tests, and the seven-day rolling average of added cases based on that test increased to 57.3 on Sunday from 56.4 on Saturday.

Oconee County did not add any cases based on antigen tests, and Clarke County had one case removed from its records.

If the results from the two types of tests are combined, the seven-day rolling average for Oconee County dropped to 16.4 from 17.0 on Saturday, and the seven-day rolling average for Clarke County stayed the same at 64.0.

The Georgia Hospital Association (GHA) and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) reported on Sunday that the number of COVID-19 patients at area hospitals (140) increased by two from the day before, that the number of ICU beds in use (67) was the same as the day before, and that the number of adult ventilators in use (29) decreased by nine from the day before.

The number of COVID-19 patients is the highest is has been since Aug. 12. The percentage of patients that are labeled COVID-19 patients increased from 20.9 on Saturday to 22.2 on Sunday.

For state data and charts summarizing local and state data, please go to Oconee County Observations.