How to watch Kemp’s COVID-19 press conference after issue with GA testing data revealed
Gov. Brian Kemp is set to address Georgia residents at 4:30 p.m. Thursday regarding the state’s efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19.
The press conference comes after state health officials revealed that at least 57,000 antibody tests were included in the state’s total testing counts, inflating the total count.
As of 1 p.m.. May 21, the Georgia Department of Public Health confirmed 40,405 coronavirus cases and 1,754 deaths.
Here’s what you need to know:
Where can I watch?
Kemp’s press briefing from the state capitol will be live-streamed on his Facebook page and on Georgia Public Broadcasting’s website at 4:30 p.m.
Watch the GPB stream below:
Who will be there?
On Wednesday afternoon, the Governor’s Office sent out a list of state officials who will be in attendance. They are:
Governor Brian Kemp
Dr. Kathleen Toomey, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health
Homer Bryson, Director of the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency
Adjutant General Tom Carden, Georgia National Guard
Colonel Gary Vowell, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Safety
Mark Williams, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Gary Black, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Agriculture
What will be discussed?
A primary focus of the press conference will likely be the state’s inclusion of antibody testing in its total testing numbers. Of the more than 400,000 reported tests, at least 57,000 were for antibodies.
McClatchy reported Wednesday that state health officials were combining viral tests and antibody tests in its total test counts. These two tests are not the same.
Antibody tests tell signs of previous infections while viral tests identify those who are currently infected. A person who tests positive only for the antibodies in Georgia is listed as a probable case, rather than a confirmed infection, according to state health officials. That information is not published on the website.
Health officials say the practice of combining both tests artificially raises Georgia’s testing totals and artificially lowers the state’s percentage of positive tests. Dr. Harry J. Heiman of Georgia State University told McClatchy that the state should report the two different tests separately.
“You’re putting apples and oranges together and calling them oranges,” he said. “You’re mixing two different tests. ...All that does is over-inflate the testing number.
Georgia is not the only state where the practice was occurring. Texas, Vermont and Pennsylvania are combining both results. Virginia was doing this but has since stopped, several media outlets have reported.
The Atlantic Magazine and WLRN, a Miami radio station, report the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are mixing the results for both tests as well.
Georgia health officials will remove antibody tests from its total test counts, said Nancy Nydam, a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Public Health.
“The data team is working on that now,” she said. “Until we finalize how the antibody testing will be displayed and taken out of the total test number, there will be a message on the current dashboard indicating that the antibody tests are included in total tests, but positives are not included in the COVID-19 positive case tally.”
This story was originally published May 21, 2020 at 2:48 PM.