Brantley County on Saturday reported its second death related to COVID-19 as the statewide death toll hit 677, according to the evening data from the Georgia Department of Public Health.
The total number of confirmed cases in the state reached 17,841 on Saturday evening, an increase of 409 from Friday night.
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Ware County has reported five novel coronavirus deaths and most cases in the area (81) and neighboring Pierce County has reported two deaths and 51 cases. Glynn County has 49 cases but no deaths, Brantley County has two deaths and 18 cases, while Camden County has 28 cases and no deaths and Charlton County has five cases and no deaths.
Data shows that 3,447 (about 19%) of those with confirmed cases are hospitalized for treatment of the virus.
Fulton County, where 74 people have died, still has the most cases in the state with 2,065. Dougherty County, where there are 1,409 confirmed cases, still has the highest death toll in the state, 91.
Georgia’s public health agency said on Thursday it’s broadening its definition of who’s eligible for coronavirus testing in the state.
Anyone showing symptoms of COVID-19 such as cough, fever or shortness of breath is now considered a candidate for testing at one of the state’s drive-thru sites as long as those patients first get a referral, the Georgia Department of Public Health said. The state previously reserved most testing for high-risk populations, such as the elderly and medical workers, and required referrals from private physicians. People now can also get referrals from local health departments.
Priority for testing will still go to health care workers, first responders and law enforcement officers as well as residents and staff of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, whether they have symptoms or not, the department said in a news release.
The agency said it’s also expanding the number of sample-collection sites for testing. One new site that was expected to open Thursday will raise the total to 36 statewide, with more expected within the next week, said Nancy Nydam, spokeswoman for the Department of Public Health.
Nydam said the agency now has about 5,000 test kits in hand and has ramped up its ability to process them.
“As much as anything that affected testing was actually having the kits to collect specimens and the capacity to process those tests,” Nydam said by email. “We are in a much better place now on both counts.”
Gov. Brian Kemp and the state health agency’s commissioner, Dr. Kathleen Toomey, have both openly expressed frustration at the limited availability of testing in Georgia. As of Wednesday, just over 4,000 tests for the disease had been processed by state labs, compared with nearly 60,000 Georgia tests handled by commercial labs.
Without more widespread testing, it’s impossible for health officials to accurately track the spread of the virus.
