NE Health District Adds Record Number Of COVID-19 Cases

The Northeast Health District on Thursday added 401 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 based on molecular tests, the largest number ever added in a single day, plus 30 cases based on antigen tests, and one death attributed to the disease.

The 401 added cases compare with the previous high of 385 added on Sept. 5 and pushed the seven-day rolling average of added cases based on this test to 253.0, up from 231.4 on Wednesday, and the highest seven-day rolling average ever.

The Department of Public Health also added 30 cases in the Northeast Health District based on antigen tests in its Daily Status Report on Thursday, and the seven-day rolling average of added cases from antigen tests dropped to 50.4 from 54.4 on Wednesday.

The seven-day rolling average of added cases based on both the molecular and antigen tests reached 303.4 on Thursday, up from 285.9 on Wednesday, and the highest level since the state began releasing antigen tests results on Nov. 3.

Every one of the District’s 10 counties added at least six cases based on molecular tests, with Oconee County adding 14 and Clarke County adding 75.

Oconee County also added two cases based on antigen tests, and the seven-day rolling average of added cases based on both tests was 16.1 in Oconee County on Thursday, down from 16.4 on Wednesday, while in Clarke County it was 64.3, the same as the day before.

That seven-day rolling average has increased over the last two weeks from 10.0 in Oconee County on Nov. 27 and from 42.7 in Clarke County on that same date.

The death reported in the Daily Status Report was of a male in Madison County without a chronic condition who is listed as 90 plus in age.

The Northeast Health District as a whole now has 365 deaths attributed to COVID-19, and the seven-day rolling average of added deaths dropped to 1.3 on Thursday 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 (140) remained the same as the day before, that the number of ICU beds in use (66) increased by one from the day before, and that the number of adult ventilators in use (31) increased by one from the day before.

The Department of Community Health listed six new cases of COVID-19 among residents of long-term care homes in the Northeast Health District on Thursday and four new cases of COVID-19 among staff at those facilities.

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