GA Nursing Home Testing Ramps Up As Hospitalizations Decrease

GEORGIA — One of the most at-risk populations for the coronavirus are those living in nursing homes, which is why the state of Georgia has made it a point to test as many as possible. On Friday, Governor Brian Kemp said Georgia had tested 59.7 percent of all nursing home residents, in addition to reporting a new low in COVID-19 positive patients currently hospitalized.

As of Tuesday at 1 p.m., there are 854 Georgians currently hospitalized with COVID-19. Georgia has seen a more than 40 percent drop in this statistic since May 1.

"One of the key battlefields in our fight against COVID-19 is Georgia's nursing homes, and we are laser-focused on providing the necessary protective equipment and testing to keep our most vulnerable citizens safe," Kemp said. "We also continue to see encouraging COVID-19 hospitalization data from Georgia's hospitals. I deeply appreciate their commitment to caring for Georgians fighting this virus, and I look forward to continuing our partnership to provide treatment to these patients."

The number of tests has risen, with more than half a million tests administered, more than 100,000 in the last week alone.

Those test numbers come with a caveat, though: They still combine tests for antibodies and tests for the disease itself. The state's website promises to separate the two types of test "as soon as possible." Gov. Brian Kemp apologized on May 21 for counting both types of tests as proof that a person didn't have COVID-19.

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At 1 p.m. Tuesday, the Georgia Department of Public Health counted 43,730 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 1,871 deaths. This is an increase of 386 new cases since Monday at 1 p.m., and 41 new deaths.

More than 514,000 tests are reported to have been administered so far. More than 7,500 Georgians have been hospitalized for COVID-19, with more than 1,700 of them admitted to an intensive-care unit for it.

Counties in or near metro Atlanta continue to have the highest number of cases, with Fulton County confirming 4,116 positives. DeKalb is second with 3,329, Gwinnett is third with 3,226, Cobb is fourth with 2,835 and Hall is fifth with 2,344. Today's statistics also identify 2,190 cases of COVID-19 as from "unknown" counties, with 1,976 cases counted as "Non-Georgia."

Fulton County reports the most deaths, with 202, followed by Cobb County, with 148. Dougherty County in southwest Georgia, site of the state's earliest hotspot, has dropped to third with 142 deaths. Rounding out the top five counties are Gwinnett in fourth with 124 deaths and DeKalb in fifth with 106 deaths.

While all 159 counties in Georgia have by now reported at least one case of COVID-19, about 39 percent of them — all rural — have reported no more than one death. Thirty-one counties — again, all rural — have reported no deaths at all.

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