Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R) has shown vacillating response to the pandemic. He was slow to call for a stay-at-home order across the state; then he did, but with exceptions; he kept outdoor recreational areas open, then he closed the public parks and beaches, then he opened the beaches for “strictly limited” use.
As a result, in spite of closures of ALL state parks and mounting pressure to re-close beaches, Georgians and out-of-staters discard caution in order to celebrate spring. Natural recreational sites all over the state are seeing an influx of cars, carrying hikers to the closed parks where drivers and passengers disembark to enjoy the outdoors in conditions that make physical separation impossible. A situation better designed to transmit SARS-CoV-2 can hardly be imagined.
At Tallulah Gorge State Park in Rabun County. GA
(1700 carloads of visitors) were lined up cheek by jowl to descend the 750-step staircase that drops to the bridge from the rim. It was on a par with a July 4 weekend. . .
Not all people who have been crowding GA parks and beaches are residents of the state. Spring is impacting peoples desires to enjoy perfect weather all over the Southeast. Stay-at-home orders proving anti-effective, it seems.
After North Carolina’s governor ordered residents there to stay at home last week, plenty of cars with North Carolina tags continued to cross over the border to recreation spots at nearby Clayton, Georgia.
Last week Rabun County resident SarahRuth Owens was headed to a fairly secluded spot near Warwoman Dell, and “there were three cars with North Carolina tags, plain as day,” she said. “They started pulling all their camping gear out, and I thought, what are they doing here? Aren’t they supposed to shelter in place?”
Regular readers of this series covering GA, will remember the Republican GA state senator who on the day his self-isolation ended, packed up a caravan of three vehicles and went to Florida to vacation “and complete his recovery,” in spite of His governor’s order to shelter-in-place.
This phenomenon is not exclusive to GA and NC. Park rangers in the Appalachian Trail area of Tennessee also report phenomenal hiker traffic along “lesser known” trails. The AT itself has been CLOSED by the US Forest Service, including all access trails. Georgia state park personnel attached to Cloudland Canyon report it was “maxed-out.”
How do we know that the anecdotal testimony of park rangers and park visitors who have spoken to reporters are true?
The New York Times analyzed anonymous cellphone data from 15 million users to demonstrate the travel patterns of the country. The map showed that much of the country had heeded advisories to stay close to home, and had stopped traveling more than 2 miles a day — except in the Southeast.
(SNIP)
Steven Bekkerus, public affairs officer for the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. “This level of public use and non-essential travel is outside the current CDC guidelines.”
REMINDER: Outdoor exercise that flouts the CDC Guidelines is NOT healthy; State Parks do not provide immunity from Covid-19 because the breeze is blowing, the sun is shining, and the birds are singing. The word is “beauty,” not “immunity.”
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Today’s significant increase in cases is in part due to additional laboratories reporting to DPH, and also improvements in electronic reporting from other laboratories. Patient information is often incomplete and DPH works to complete the records, so data will change over time.
Georgia Department of Public Health Statistics
Updates Now Issued at Noon and 7:00 PM
3/3/2020 First day of reporting 3 cases, 0 deaths
3/12/2020 First death reported 1 death
4/3/20 Noon report 5831 cases, 1158 hospitalized, 184 deaths
Today’s Noon Report:
COVID-19 Confirmed Cases: |
No. Cases (%) |
Total |
7314 (100%)* |
Hospitalized |
1332 (18.21%) |
Deaths |
229 (3.13%)**
|
* an increase of 1,483 cases, 20% over previous number of cases reported 3 days before
** an increase of 45 deaths, 18.8% over previous number of deaths reported 3 days before
Today’s Coronavirus Testing Data
COVID-19 Testing By Lab Type: |
No. Pos. Tests |
Total Tests |
Commercial Lab |
6866 |
28777 |
GPH Lab |
448 |
2497 |
Overall # of tests performed in GA: 31,274
Overall percentage positive tests: 23.4%
Beginning Today
Senior care facilities with COVID-19 outbreaks
This list of nursing homes and other senior care facilities identified by the Georgia Department of Public Health reflects known outbreaks of COVID-19 as of Wednesday afternoon, April 1, 2020 and was released the following Friday. The DPH will update this list every Friday.
Arbor Terrace At Cascade, Atlanta, Fulton County
Benton House, Woodstock, Cherokee County
Benton House of Grayson, Grayson, Gwinnett County
Berman Commons, Dunwoody, DeKalb County
Budd Terrace, Wesley Woods, Atlanta, DeKalb County
Cambridge Care, Snellville, Gwinnett County
Canterfield of Kennesaw, Kennesaw, Cobb County
Cottage Landing, Carrollton, Carroll County
Dawson Health and Rehab, Dawson, Terrell County
Delmar Gardens of Smyrna, Smyrna, Cobb County [NOTE: A spokesperson for the facility says the state’s listing is in error and an independent living resident tested positive while hospitalized.]
Discovery Village of Sugarloaf, Suwannee, Gwinnett County
Douglasville Nursing and Rehab, Douglasville, Douglas County
Fellowship Home, Valdosta, Brooks County
Gardens of Fayetteville, Fayetteville, Fayettte County
Glancy Rehab-Northside Gwinnett, Duluth, Gwinnett County
Greenwood Place, Marietta, Cobb County
Heartis Fayetteville, Fayetteville, Fayette County
King's Bridge Retirement Center, Atlanta, DeKalb County
LaGrange Nursing & Rehab, LaGrange, Troup County
Legacy Ridge At Neese Road, Woodstock, Cherokee County
Lenbrook, Atlanta, Fulton County
Mann House Assisted Living, Cumming, Forsyth County
ManorCare Rehab Center, Decatur, DeKalb County
Maple Ridge, Cartersville, Bartow County
Marietta Life Center, Marietta, Cobb County
Miller County Nursing Home, Colquitt, Wayne County
Oaks at Towne Lake, Woodstock, Cherokee County
Orchard at Brookhaven, Brookhaven, DeKalb County
Park Springs, Stone Mountain, DeKalb County
Parkside Acute and Rehab, Snellville, Gwinnett County
Pelham Parkway, Pelham, Mitchell County
Pine Knoll, Carrollton, Carroll County
Powder Springs Transitional Care and Rehab, Powder Springs, Cobb County
Pruitt Health Crestwood, Valdosta, Lowndes County
Pruitt Health Eastside, Macon, Bibb County
Pruitt Health Grandview, Athens, Clarke County
Pruitt Health of Brookhaven, Atlanta, DeKalb County
Pruitt Health Palmyra, Albany, Dougherty County
Retreat at Canton, Canton, Cherokee County
Riverdale, Riverdale, Clayton County
Rome Health & Rehab, Rome, Floyd County
Rosemont at Stone Mountain, Stone Mountain, DeKalb County
Sadie Mays Health & Rehab, Atlanta, Fulton County
Sandy Springs Health & Rehab, Sandy Springs, DeKalb County
Signature Healthcare, Marietta, Cobb County
Townsend Park, Cartersville, Bartow County
Zebulon Park Health and Rehab, Macon, Bibb County
The DPH's reporting does not contain information about how many residents at each facility were infected. Some facilities have reported that information publicly.
The first reported case of COVID-19 in a long-term care facility for the elderly came on March 16.
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Discussion
Leading infected age group demographic remains 18-59 years-old, which stands at 60%, continuing the uptrend of 1% continuing into the second week. The 60+ age group has decreased by 1%.
53% cases are female; 46% male; 1% unk. This reflects a continuing uptrend in cases among females into the second week.
91 of deaths are female; 138 are male; there are no longer any unk by sex.
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News You Can Use
The vaccine, which is called mRNA-1273, is based on messenger RNA, which has been described as telling the body to produce a vigorous immune response.
(SNIP)
The 45 trial participants received different dosages — low, intermediate and high. Nurses will take blood samples from each participant about four weeks after the second injection, and researchers will see how effective the immune system of each participant is in generating antibodies against the virus.