State of COVID-19 in GA improving, according to White House. What the data shows:
The state of COVID-19 in Georgia continues to improve, according to the most recent report from the White House coronavirus task force.
Georgia, which led the nation in new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people in mid-August, has moved out of the task force’s “red zone” designation, based on the number of new cases reported and the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests. The task force has different recommendations for coronavirus restrictions, based on a state’s zone.
New cases and the percentage of COVID-19 tests that come back positive at colleges and universities has improved, according to the report. Georgia is in the “orange zone” for cases, 23rd in the country, which means the state is reporting between 51 and 100 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people. The test positivity rate, an indication of whether enough coronavirus cases are being performed, is between 5% and 7.9%, which leaves Georgia in the yellow zone for testing, 22nd in the country.
The task force reports Georgia is making progress but must continue to take action to slow the spread of the virus. Some of their recommendations include increased tracking in college and university towns and continue to get rapid tests into those communities.
The White House task force wrote that “progress is evident and needs to continue and ensure no reversal of hard-fought gains.” and added that the key is to continue to mitigate the spread of the virus by wearing masks, physical distancing, washing hands, and avoiding crowds.
These gains come as Gov. Brian Kemp prepares to issue a new executive order to extend coronavirus restrictions. The current order is set to expire just before midnight.
Middle Georgia Cases
The Georgia Department of Public Health reported 17,770 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Middle Georgia in its 3 p.m. update Wednesday.
Here are key takeaways:
Cases: 17,770. Bibb County has recorded the most cumulative positive cases with 6,089.
Deaths: 572. It’s important to note that these numbers indicate when deaths are reported to the Georgia Department of Public Health. It does not reflect when these deaths occurred.
Hospitalizations: In Region F, which includes Bibb County and much of Middle Georgia, 79.05% of hospital beds were in use, 83.65% of ICU beds were in use and 31.86% of adult ventilators were in use. Coliseum Health System has 28 Covid-19 positive patients.
Cases per person: Baldwin County has the most cases per 100,000 with 4803. Bibb is next with 4001 cases per 100,000 people. Crawford has one of the lowest rates in the state, with 1365 per 100,000.
County Indicator Report: Twiggs County is currently listed as a high transmission county and Washington County is listed as an emerging county. An emerging county has seen a greater than 5% increase in COVID cases from the previous seven day period. A high transmission county has a 14-day cases rate of more than 100 cases for 100,000 county residents and an average of more than 10% in positive tests results during that 14 day period. No other counties in Middle Georgia meet these criteria according to the report.
The following is a breakdown of cumulative cases and deaths for counties in Middle Georgia.
- Bibb 6,089 cases - 170 deaths
- Houston 3,163 - 82
- Baldwin 2,134- 57
- Laurens 1,661- 75
- Monroe 699 - 52
- Washington 676 - 8
- Peach 670 - 24
- Jones 560 - 9
- Bleckley 435 - 21
- Dodge 431 - 12
- Wilkinson 341 - 18
- Pulaski 313 - 22
- Macon 234 - 10
- Twiggs 197 - 7
- Crawford 167 - 5
The state reported 1,779 new cases across the state and 29 new deaths Tuesday.
Federal, state and county data
According to the Georgia Department of Health, the seven-day average of new cases reported decreased by 30.4% from Sept. 21 through Sept 28. This is down 67% from the state’s peak on July 24. The highest percentage of cases are in large counties in the metro Atlanta area. The state reported over 2.9 million COVID-19 tests as of Sept. 30.
White House report: In Middle Georgia, the metro areas that include Macon, Warner Robins and Milledgeville are in the “yellow zone,” according to the latest update from the White House Coronavirus Task Force. The “yellow zone” indicates the metro areas reported between 10-50 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people and a test positivity between 5%-7.9%.
Bibb County moved from the red zone in last week’s report, which means the county is reporting more than 100 new cases per 100,000 people and has a test positivity rate above 10% to the yellow zone.
According to the North Central Health District, the COVID-19 incidence rate for Bibb County residents over the most recent reporting period (Sept 7-20) was 166 cases per 100,000 residents. The previous two-week incidence rate was 256 per 100,000. This is a 35% decrease. From Sept. 7-20, 96% of cases were linked to community spread and not a specific outbreak. The vast majority of cases linked to outbreaks were associated with congregate care settings, such as nursing homes.
Twiggs County is the only NCHD county to report an increase in the new case rate. The rate went up by 78% from the previous 14-day period. The current two-week incidence rate is 195 per 100,000 population an increase from 110 from the previous two-week period.
The North Central Health District covers 13 counties, including Macon-Bibb, Houston and Peach. It also includes the following colleges and universities Georgia College, Fort Valley State, Mercer and Middle Georgia State University.