Oconee Has 3 COVID-19 Cases; Medical Professional Seek Action

Oconee County added two new confirmed cases of COVID-19 between the release of the Georgia Department of Health’s Daily Status Report at noon on Sunday and the release of the report on Monday, bringing the total to three.

Clarke County added five cases during that same time period, bringing its total to 14, while Barrow held steady with a single confirmed case.

Across the state, confirmed cases increased from 600 at noon on Sunday to 772 at noon on Monday, and state health officials cautioned that new results are “in part reflective of improvement in electronic reporting efficiency from commercial laboratories.”

The Georgia Department of Health now has instituted reporting each day at 7 p.m. as well as noon, and the number of cases in the state was 800 in that second reporting on Monday. The numbers for Oconee, Clarke and Barrow counties remained unchanged from the noon figures.

Late Monday afternoon a group of 70 doctors, nurses and other medical professionals sent a letter to the Oconee County Board of Commissioners urging them to issue a mandatory round-the-clock shelter-in-place order.

“The time has passed for voluntary measures and simple social distancing,” the letter states.

In a separate letter, another group of 10 individuals, including Oconee County Planning Commission member Karen Hilyard, called for the Board of Commissioners to adopt a shelter-in-place ordinance.

Late on Monday, Commission Chair John Daniell said the Commission is taking “all the comments into consideration” and communicating with “with local hospitals, state leaders and other counties in our region to receive accurate information.”

For more on this story, please go to Oconee County Observations.