Oconee And Clarke Add COVID-19 Cases, District Sets Record

The Georgia Department of Public Health added 144 new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the 10-county Northeast Health District with the release of the Daily Status Report on Thursday, and the seven-day rolling average of added cases in the District increased to a new record of 116.9.

The Department of Public Health did not list any new deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the District, and the seven-day rolling average of added deaths remained unchanged at 1.9.

Clarke County continued to add cases at a high rate, with 42 new cases in the Thursday Daily Status Report. Oconee County added seven. All 10 counties in the District added cases.

Clarke County has added only two deaths since the beginning of May and no deaths in July, and its current death toll stands at 15. It has added 513 cases since July 1.

Oconee County, in contrast, has added all 14 of its deaths since May 1 and four since July 1. Oconee County added 105 cases since July 1.

Clarke County’s death to case ratio stands at .014, while Oconee County’s death to case ratio is .053.

The Department of Community Health currently lists 11 deaths at five long-term care facilities in Clarke County and eight at two long-term care facilities in Oconee County.

The deaths at the long-term care facilities do not always end up in the Daily Status Report.

At least eight deaths listed in the Department of Community Health Long-Term Care Facility Report in Jackson County since June 29 still have not been included in the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report.

The Georgia Emergency Management Agency reported that the number of available Critical Care Beds at area hospitals increased from seven in the Wednesday report to eight in the Thursday report.

For more on the story, with additional data on the Northeast Health District and data for the state of Georgia as a whole, please go to Oconee County Observations.