Middle Georgia up to 304 COVID-19 cases, more news you need to know on April 8

Gov. Brian Kemp extended his statewide shelter in place order until April 30 at a news conference this afternoon. Read more about it.

This morning, Gov. Brian Kemp extended the public health emergency declaration until May 13. His office told the Telegraph on April 6 the reason Kemp’s order requiring most Georgians to shelter in place was set to expire on Monday was because it was tied to the public health emergency declaration.

Here’s more from Dave Williams of Capitol Beat:

Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia’s top legislative leaders jointly announced Wednesday they will extend a statewide public health emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic through May 13.

Kemp first declared a public health emergency back on March 14 as COVID-19 began taking hold in Georgia. Lawmakers ratified the governor’s order two days later during a one-day special session and set the declaration to expire on April 13.

“This measure will allow us to continue to deploy resources to communities in need, lend support to frontline medical providers, and keep preparing as we brace for potential patient surge in our health-care facilities,” Kemp said in a prepared statement. “We deeply appreciate the hard work of Georgians who are sheltering in place, using social distancing, and helping us flatten the curve. We are in this fight together.”

Mercer University professor begins working on COVID-19 vaccine

Mercer University’s Dr. Martin D’Souza has begun research into designing a vaccine for COVID-19, according to a release from the university. Here’s more from Mercer:

Dr. D’Souza has previously used patented nanotechnology to design and deliver nanovaccines for infectious diseases and cancer. His approach involves using tiny “bead-like” nanoparticles and microparticles to deliver drugs and vaccines.

“The advantage of putting a vaccine in a microparticle is that it looks even more foreign to the body,” said Dr. D’Souza. “Therefore, the body creates an even stronger immune response.”

Dr. D’Souza will focus his COVID-19 vaccine research on the Spike surface glycoprotein – also known as the S protein – that is present on the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. The S protein attaches to a receptor called angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, or ACE-2, on human alveolar cells in the lungs.

“Typically, the virus infects humans via the S protein, which fits perfectly onto the ACE-2 receptor of the lung cells,” said Dr. D’Souza. “The lung cells take up the virus, and it uses the human body to replicate itself and create millions of copies.”

The S glycoprotein, which is commercially available, will be formulated into nanovaccines by Dr. D’Souza and his lab. They will then evaluate the capacity of the human immune system to mount a strong antibody response against the S protein on the virus.

“We’ve worked with virus and bacterial proteins for years,” said Dr. D’Souza. “We feel comfortable that we can at least come up with some interesting vaccine formulations.”

Dr. D’Souza’s nanotechnology laboratory at Mercer focuses on the development of novel technologies using nanoparticles to deliver drugs and vaccines by nonconventional routes of administration such as oral, buccal and microneedle-based transdermal vaccines.

His lab has conducted previous National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research on universal influenza and RSV vaccines. Additional vaccine projects undertaken by his lab include HPV, meningitis and gonorrhea, as well as melanoma, breast, ovarian and prostate cancer.

Middle Georgia coronavirus count

The Telegraph will provide you with an updated number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Middle Georgia at noon and 7 p.m.

The Georgia Department of Public Health reported 304 positive COVID-19 cases in Middle Georgia in its 7 p.m. update on Wednesday, up 17 from noon Wednesday.

Houston County saw the largest jump with seven new cases. Wilkinson County had four additional cases in the latest update and Crawford County had two. Bibb, Baldwin and Laurens each had two additional cases.

As of Wednesday’s report, Monroe and Baldwin County each have one confirmed death from COVID-19 in addition to the seven in Houston County, two in Peach County and one in Bibb County.

Here’s a breakdown of cases and deaths by county:

• Houston 99, 7

• Bibb 51, 1

• Baldwin 30, 1

• Laurens 27, 0

• Peach 19, 2

• Washington 17, 0

• Monroe 12, 1

• Macon 11, 0

• Dodge 9, 0

• Pulaski 9, 0 +1

• Wilkinson 8, 0

• Jones 7, 0
  
  

• Crawford 3, 0

• Twiggs 2, 0

• Bleckley 1, 0

At 7 p.m. the state of Georgia reported 10,189 confirmed cases and 369 deaths, with 12 in Middle Georgia.

For the full update from the state of Georgia click here.

This story was originally published April 8, 2020 at 10:36 AM.