There’s now almost 100 coronavirus cases in Georgia. Here’s a county-by-county list.
The Georgia Department of Public Health on Sunday confirmed 99 cases of COVID-19 in the state — up by more than 30 from Saturday’s count.
A majority of the confirmed cases are in the Atlanta metro area. Of the confirmed cases, 47% are ages 60 and older, and 45% percent are between the ages of 18 and 59. Females account for 53% of the confirmed cases, according to the department’s daily update. One person who tested positive for the new coronavirus in Georgia has died since the disease was found here.
Here is a county-by-county breakdown of the confirmed cases:
- Fulton: 20
- Cobb: 19
- Dekalb: 10
- Bartow: 9
- Cherokee: 6
- Dougherty: 6
- Fayette: 5
- Floyd: 4
- Gwinnett: 4
- Coweta: 2
- Clayton: 2
- Clarke: 2
- Lowndes: 2
- Lee: 2
- Gordon: 2
- Newton: 1
Charlton: 1
- Henry: 1
- Polk: 1
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports health officials have not answered questions about the number of people who have been tested for COVID-19 in the state, and medical experts expect the number of cases is far greater.
It’s unclear how many people have been tested. When asked by McClatchy on Friday, Nancy Nydam, spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Public Health, could not provide a breakdown of the number of people tested in each Georgia county.
On Sunday, Nydam did not provide updated numbers on the total amount of people who have been tested for COVID-19 in Georgia before the publication of this story.
COVID-19 testing is being handled by state and commercial laboratories. Healthcare providers will coordinate with the state health department to determine if a person needs to be tested.
To be tested at the state lab, patients must meet certain criteria.
Patients should not contact the state Department of Public Health regarding testing. Only requests by a healthcare provider will be considered for state lab tests. The state has created an online form where health care providers can request state testing.
If a patient has mild symptoms that do not require medical care or has not had direct contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, that person is not eligible for state testing. However, that patient could be tested at a commercial lab. The state Department of Public Health recommends those patients isolate at home until their symptoms go away.
These commercial labs are expected to conduct “a substantial number” of COVID-19 tests going forward, according to the health department. LabCorp, Quest, ARUP and other commercial labs are performing tests.
In his press conference Saturday, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said the state lab is currently processing 100 specimens per day for COVID-19, and the processing will double to 200 by the end of the week with the arrival of new equipment and employees.
Kemp declared a public health emergency Saturday as testing expands and more positive cases are being reported. Concerns over COVID-19 caused Georgia officials to postpone the state’s March 24 presidential primary. It’s the second state to postpone voting due to the pandemic, the AJC reports.
This story was originally published March 15, 2020 at 1:17 PM with the headline "There’s now almost 100 coronavirus cases in Georgia. Here’s a county-by-county list.."