DPH provides update on Covid-19 trends in Georgia —
Atlanta — The Georgia Department of Public Health is providing the following information regarding the fight against Covid-19 in Georgia:
Positive Indicators
Covid-19 cases — During 8/10-8/17, our weekly statewide case numbers decreased by 11%.
The seven-day average of new cases reported is down 30% from our peak July 24.
The highest percentage of case numbers still come from the high population counties in metro Atlanta (Fulton, Gwinnett, DeKalb, Cobb have the highest case numbers, as before) but these counties are actually experiencing 20-30% decreases in case numbers.
Testing
As of Aug. 21, the state reported over 2 million Covid-19 tests.
DPH is operating 184 testing centers, called SPOCs, including mobile and pop-up locations statewide.
The number of specimens collected at DPH SPOCs has now passed 833,000
We are expanding the media campaign to encourage people to get tested for Covid-19 at the airport SPOC location. Digital billboards will be up in both directions of 1-85 near the Riverdale Road exit promoting the site along with radio spots to run in the metro area.
Positivity Rate
The positivity rates (7-day moving average) for PCR testing have decreased from 12.2% on 8/7/20 to 10.3% on 8/14/20 to 9.4% on 8/21/20. Georgia has now moved from the “high” PCR positivity rate category to “moderate.”
Hospitalizations
Daily hospitalizations have decreased 10.5% since Aug.14. Down 24.75% since a daily high of 3,200 July 30.
8/14 2,691
8/15 2,586
8/16 2,603
8/17 2,626
8/18 2,596
8/19 2,573
8/20 2,512
8/21 2,408
Emergency Department Visits
Emergency Department (ED) visits related to Covid-19 are slightly decreasing and ILI visits are slightly decreasing.
Areas of Concern
Increasing Outbreaks — Aug. 6-12: 106
These outbreaks are occurring in settings where people are physically congregating and underscore the need for distancing and source control.
Long-term care facilities 28
Schools/school athletic teams 26
Prisons/jails 12
Offices/workplaces 8
Churches 7
Manufacturing facilities 4
Day Care Centers 3
Outbreaks were also documented in hospitals/outpatient facilities, hospitals and senior living facilities.
Emerging Hotspots
We see growth and/or high transmission in rural middle Georgia, east central Georgia, south Georgia and southwest Georgia. These increases are driven by ongoing community transmission as well as outbreaks.
The CDC report indicates that we have seen a downward trajectory of cases for less than a week now.
Although our case numbers are decreasing slowly, they are at a very high plateau (magnitudes above where we were in the spring), so this still represents a risk of future increased transmission and even spikes.
For updates on Covid-19, follow @GaDPH and @GovKemp on Twitter and @GaDPH and @GovKemp on Facebook.
For information about Covid-19, visit https://dph.georgia.gov/novelcoronavirus or https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.
