Georgia positive tests surpass 1,000, deaths at 32

Subhead

By Dave Williams

Image
Body

   ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp issued an executive order Monday requiring Georgians at high risk of contracting coronavirus to stay at home.

   The order, which takes effect at noon Tuesday and runs until noon April 6, also will close all bars and nightclubs in Georgia and prohibit gatherings of 10 or more unless the participants remain at least six feet apart.

   The state Department of Public Health will be authorized to close any businesses that aren’t complying with the order.

   “These measures are intended to ensure the health and safety of Georgians from across our state,” Kemp said during a late-afternoon briefing streamed from his office at the state Capitol. “I ask for everyone’s cooperation over the next two weeks.”

   The governor’s order came about 18 hours before the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Georgia soared past 1,000 Tuesday, while the number of deaths rose to 32.

   The state Department of Public Health attributed the significant increase over the 772 confirmed cases reported on Monday in part to “improvement in electronic reporting efficiency from commercial laboratories.”

   As of noon Tuesday, 1,026 Georgians had confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 32 had died from the virus, a mortality rate of 3.12%.

   The virus has spread to 85 counties. Fulton County continues to far outpace the rest with 184 confirmed cases, followed by DeKalb County with 94, Dougherty County with 90, Cobb County with 86, Bartow County with 75 and Gwinnett County with 45.

   Kemp specified that the groups of Georgians considered at risk of contracting coronavirus include residents of long-term care facilities, patients with chronic lung disease or undergoing cancer treatment, those who have tested positive for the virus, have symptoms of COVID-19 or have been exposed to someone with coronavirus.

   Kemp also announced he has joined 21 other governors in a letter to congressional leaders asking that block grant funding to the states be included in a massive $2 trillion economic stimulus package before Congress. 

   One of the sticking points that has been holding up an agreement between Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Senate over the aid package is whether direct funding to state and local governments should be included.

   “Governors are on the front line of this fight, and many of us are spending heavily at the end of the budget year,” Kemp said. “We desperately need these resources.”

   Kemp said part of the financial impact is in the form of soaring applications for Medicaid, PeachCare for Kids and food stamps. He said the state is working on a plan to provide extra food stamp benefits in March and April.

   Kemp provided an update on the medical equipment and supplies the state is bringing on line in the fight against coronavirus. He said 30 ventilators were sent on Monday to hospitals in Dougherty and Floyd counties, areas particularly hard hit by the virus relative to their populations.

   With capacity running short at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, he announced plans to reopen an adjacent north wing with at least 26 rooms. Another facility in Albany with a capacity of about 60 beds also has been identified, he said.

   Kemp said the state is asking federal officials to allow the temporary facility opened at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta earlier this month to house passengers from a cruise ship to remain open after all of the passengers leave for their homes. It has about 200 beds that can be used if needed, he said.

   “We cannot let this virus defeat us,” he said. “We are stronger than this crisis, and we will weather the storm.”

   Dave Williams is the bureau chief of the Capitol Beat News Service, which is funded through the Georgia Press Education Foundation.

Letter to the Editor

We welcome letters to the editor online. Letters are published at the sole discretion of the newspaper staff in the order they are received.
Submitter Contact Information
CAPTCHA