NE Health District Adds COVID Cases, Has Test Positivity Increase

The Northeast Health District added 120 confirmed COVID-19 cases based on molecular tests and 23 cases based on the rapid antigen test in the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report on Monday.

For the second day in a row, the 10-county District did not add any deaths attributed to the novel corona virus in the Daily Status Report.

The Department of Community Health, however, in it Long-Term Care Facility Report on Monday, listed a death of a resident of High Shoals Health and Rehabilitation nursing home, 3450 New High Shoals Road in the west of Oconee County.

The 120 added cases based on molecular testing in the Northeast Health District increased the seven-day rolling average of added cases to 137.7 from 135.9 on Sunday.

Every county in the Northeast Health District added cases, with Oconee County adding 11 and Clarke County adding 31. In both counties, the seven-day rolling average of added cases increased.

The positivity rate for the molecular tests increased significantly over the last week. The seven-day rolling average of test positivity was higher in every county in the District except Jackson on Nov. 27 than it was on Nov. 20.

The 23 cases based on the antigen test pushed up the seven-day rolling average of added cases from that test to 28.1 on Monday from 24.6 on Sunday.

With the report of no new deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the Northeast Health District, the seven-day rolling average of added deaths dropped to 1.3 from 1.4 on Sunday.

The Department of Community Health’s Long-Term Care Facility Report on Monday was the first issued since Nov. 25, and it contained 17 additional reports of COVID-19 Positive Residents in the Northeast Health District and 10 cases of COVID among staff at these facilities.

One of the staff cases was at High Shoals Health and Rehabilitation nursing home in North High Shoals and four were at facilities in Clarke County.

The Georgia Hospital Association (GHA) and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) reported on Monday that the number of COVID-19 patients at area hospitals (99) increased by 20 from the day before, that the number of ICU beds in use (66) increased by three from the day before, and that the number of adult ventilators in use (25) decreased by five from the day before.

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