GA Distributes Largest Shipment Of PPE As Cases Pass 30K

GEORGIA — As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Georgia passed 30,000, Gov. Brian Kemp said the state distributed its largest shipment of PPE yet to local hospitals, healthcare facilities and test sites. The shipment was distributed by the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency in cooperation with the Georgia Department of Public Health.

“We know that protecting our frontline workers is critical to our success in the fight against COVID-19,” Kemp said. “Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency and Department of Public Health are leaving no stone unturned to acquire and distribute PPE, and today’s shipment is reflective of the priority that we are placing on keeping these workers safe.”

More than 600 orders, equaling 150 pallets of PPE and supplies, left the Georgia Department of Public Health warehouse bound for hospitals, healthcare facilities, and test sites throughout the state. Additionally, the team delivered four urgent PPE resupplies to the Department of Agriculture, Georgia Tech CVS test site, and the Georgia Department of Corrections. Altogether, Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency shipped 38,420 face shields, 423,000 gloves, 432,150 surgical masks, and 81,120 coveralls to frontline healthcare workers.

Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency and Department of Public Health continue working together to provide any requested resources needed by Georgia communities to effectively respond to COVID-19.

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This comes after the Department of Public Health released statistics Wednesday morning that the state has passed 30,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in Georgia.

As of noon Wednesday, the coronavirus outbreak in Georgia included 47 more deaths, the Georgia Department of Public Health released in its daily report. The updated numbers reflect an increase of 1,002 new cases from noon Tuesday, bringing the total to 30,562 coronavirus cases statewide and a total of 1,305 deaths.

Of the 5,709 total hospitalizations among positive cases, 1,325 are intensive care unit admissions. These reflect information at the time cases were reported to the state health department.

Fulton County leads the state with 3,239 cases, followed by DeKalb County with 2,353, Gwinnett County with 2,198, Cobb County with 1,981, Hall County with 1,882 and Dougherty County with 1,554. Fulton has the highest death count at 130, followed by Dougherty County with 126 and Cobb County with 102.

Glascock County is the only county in Georgia without a confirmed case.

The public health website provides graphs of cumulative cases and deaths over time. Numbers over the last 14 days may be incomplete due to cases not yet reported as well as pending test results.

"A confirmed case is defined as a person who has tested positive for 2019 novel coronavirus," says the Georgia Department of Health. "Health care providers diagnose patients with COVID-19 and they, along with laboratories, report the COVID-19 cases to the Georgia DPH. These numbers are preliminary and may change as more information is gathered on a person under investigation."

Globally, more than 3.6 million people have been infected by COVID-19, and over 258,000 people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Wednesday at noon. In the U.S., more than 1.2 million people have been infected and over 71,000 people have died from COVID-19.